A U.S. House Judiciary Committee report released Wednesday accuses Seoul of discriminating against American companies, particularly e-commerce giant Coupang. In this photo, a Coupang sign is seen near a distribution center in Seoul in December 2025. File Photo by Thomas Maresca/UPI
SEOUL, July 2 (UPI) -- A Republican-led U.S. House Judiciary Committee report accused South Korea of systematically discriminating against American companies, particularly e-commerce giant Coupang, and claimed Seoul was violating last year's bilateral trade agreement.
The 35-page interim staff report, titled "Closed for Competition: South Korea's Discriminatory Attacks on American-owned Businesses," was released Wednesday and comes in the wake of a massive data breach at Coupang last year that has strained ties between Seoul and Washington.
Much of the report centers on Seoul's investigation into the data leak, which exposed the personal information of roughly 33 million users of Coupang, a U.S.-listed e-commerce company that generates the vast majority of its business in South Korea.
The incident sparked public outrage, consumer boycotts and criticism that the company sought to downplay the severity of the breach. It also triggered a sweeping response by South Korean authorities, including raids, audits and parliamentary inquiries, and quickly escalated into a diplomatic flashpoint.
