Anchor: On the second day of his five-day U.S. trip, Prime Minister Kim Min-seok met with U.S. Vice President JD Vance at the White House. Their 50-minute meeting covered a number of issues concerning both sides, including the recent data breach at e-commerce giant Coupang and diplomacy with North Korea.
Choi You Sun reports.

Report: Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, who met with U.S. Vice President JD Vance during his visit to the U.S. Friday, discussed a range of issues concerning the two countries, such as the data breach incident at e-commerce giant Coupang and North Korea.

Speaking with South Korean correspondents after the meeting at the White House, Kim said the vice president wanted to better understand the key issues of concern in the Coupang case after two U.S. investors recently notified Seoul that they planned to file arbitration claims.

The investors claimed the South Korean government discriminated against the U.S.-based e-commerce giant in handling the data breach case and requested the U.S. Trade Representative to investigate the matter.

Kim took issue with Coupang's delayed handling of the massive leak of data from accounts of more than 33 million customers, and the two venture capital firms' groundless criticisms against President Lee Jae Myung and himself.

After the prime minister showed Vance the English translation of his office's press release regarding his earlier comments in question that were claimed to be discriminatory against Coupang, Kim said that the vice president asked that the two sides manage the case well to prevent misunderstandings.

Also according to Kim, Vance asked him for advice on U.S. diplomacy with North Korea, and the prime minister replied that only U.S. President Trump has the will and capability to improve ties with the North, and that one option could be to send a special envoy to the regime.

The discussion took place amid rising speculation that Trump could seek a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during his planned visit to China in April.

Vance also mentioned concerns within the U.S. about Segero Church pastor Son Hyun-bo, who has been indicted in South Korea for violating the Public Official Election Act, to which Kim assured that such probes are conducted with politics and religion strictly separated.

The two sides established a hotline for enhanced communication and Kim invited Vance to make a visit to South Korea.
Choi You Sun, KBS World Radio News.