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| Coupang, the one who farted gets angry at Korean Government |
Coupang, South Korea’s largest e-commerce company, has become the center of a multifaceted political and legal controversy in the United States following a major personal data breach that affected millions of users. The incident has drawn widespread regulatory scrutiny in Korea and now appears to be spilling into U.S. political and trade arenas, fueled in part by aggressive lobbying efforts and actions by U.S. investors.
The starting point was Coupang’s own failure—a large-scale personal data breach that exposed user information.
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Instead of focusing first on accountability, remediation, and transparency, Coupang and its major U.S. investors shifted the narrative.
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Korean regulatory scrutiny was reframed as political discrimination, trade pressure, or even a threat to U.S.–Korea relations.
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The company and its backers then escalated the issue by mobilizing U.S. political, trade, and diplomatic channels, effectively pushing back against regulators rather than acknowledging fault.
In other words:
The party that caused the problem responded not with contrition, but with anger and counterattack—using power and influence to change the subject.
Massive Data Breach and Domestic Backlash
In late 2025, Coupang disclosed that a cyberattack exposed personal information linked to tens of millions of customer accounts, prompting public criticism and an expansive government investigation in South Korea.
The company later filed disclosures in the United States asserting that although roughly 33 million accounts were accessed, only about 3,000 actual records were retained and no data was shared with third parties. Critics argue that this characterization downplays the scope of the breach and may raise issues under U.S. securities law.
Domestically, the breach triggered emergency government meetings and heightened scrutiny from regulators, with authorities stepping up interagency responses to the incident.
From Data Breach to U.S. Political Arena
What began as a cybersecurity incident has rapidly taken on international political and trade dimensions.
U.S. Investors Escalate to Trade and Arbitration Claims
Two major U.S. investment firms that hold significant Coupang stock—Greenoaks Capital Partners and Altimeter Capital Management—have taken the unprecedented step of petitioning the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to investigate the Korean government’s handling of the data breach under Section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act.
These investors claim that:
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The Korean government’s regulatory response to the breach has been discriminatory and punitive toward Coupang.
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The probe has caused significant financial losses for shareholders.
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Korea’s actions may violate the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) and merit trade remedies, including possible tariffs or sanctions.
They have also submitted notices of intent to pursue international arbitration under KORUS’s Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism, arguing that Seoul’s actions go beyond ordinary regulation and amount to unlawful treatment of a U.S.-listed company.
This move is unusual: it is rare for U.S. investors to sue a foreign government, and it has the potential to escalate into a broader trade conflict.
Coupang’s Lobbying and U.S. Political Responses
Allegations of Lobbying Influence
Coupang has reportedly engaged in extensive lobbying efforts in Washington over the past several years—spending millions of dollars to cultivate support among U.S. policymakers and key political figures. According to Korean media reporting, these efforts have involved outreach across both major parties and government circles, which some Korean officials believe has become a factor in how the issue has played out in U.S. political discourse.
Former senior U.S. officials and commentators have used the platform of these raised concerns to criticize Korean actions. For example, a former U.S. National Security Council aide associated with Donald Trump publicly argued that aggressive Korean regulatory actions against Coupang could harm broader U.S.-Korea trade relations, framing the dispute in geopolitical terms.
Advocacy Groups Weigh In
U.S. domestic groups such as the Korean American Political Action Committee (KAPAC) have explicitly warned Coupang against using American political influence to “provoke conflict” or deflect scrutiny of the data breach. KAPAC has called on the company to be transparent about the breach and to implement meaningful compensation measures for affected customers, while distancing the data issue from geopolitical narratives.
This reflects concern among some Koreans in the U.S. that Coupang’s efforts to leverage political advocacy could exacerbate tensions between Seoul and Washington.
Diplomatic and Policy Implications
The controversy has reached the highest levels of government diplomacy. South Korean leaders, including Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, have sought to calm tensions by assuring U.S. lawmakers that Korea’s regulatory actions are neutral and lawful, and not aimed at discriminating against U.S. companies.
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance has also publicly called for a fair and constructive resolution, underscoring the importance of managing the issue carefully to avoid misunderstandings or escalation in the broader bilateral relationship.
What This Means
The Coupang case illustrates how a domestic corporate crisis—in this case a massive data breach—can rapidly evolve into an international political and trade flashpoint when:
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the company is listed in a foreign market (U.S.),
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investors wield political channels to influence outcomes, and
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diplomatic relationships intersect with global regulatory and trade frameworks.
Observers warn that if unresolved or mismanaged, the dispute could strain U.S.-Korea economic cooperation, complicate digital regulation norms, and influence how cross-border corporate governance and data protection issues are adjudicated in the era of globalized tech platforms.
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