As Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan prepares for a significant visit to Washington later this week, the escalating dispute surrounding the e-commerce giant Coupang is anticipated to be a central topic in his high-level discussions with senior US officials, alongside crucial shipbuilding cooperation.
Reports on Sunday confirm that Minister Kim will travel to Washington to attend the inauguration of the Korea-US Shipbuilding Partnership Center this Thursday. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is also expected to participate in this pivotal event, highlighting bilateral commitment to strengthening industrial ties.
While the official agenda will focus on expanding strategic cooperation in the shipbuilding industry between Korea and the United States, these critical meetings are likely to extend to broader Korea-US trade issues affecting both allies, particularly the ongoing controversy and regulatory scrutiny involving Coupang.
Coupang, a New York-listed e-commerce platform that generates the majority of its revenue from Korean operations, faced significant backlash after confirming a massive data breach affecting approximately 33 million users in November 2025. Following this incident, Seoul launched a comprehensive pan-governmental investigation, which ultimately resulted in a 423.6 billion won ($284.7 million) fine for the personal information leak, coupled with an additional 201.1 billion won penalty for Coupang’s unauthorized collection of users’ online activity data via its website and mobile application.
Since the initiation of Korea’s stringent investigation into Coupang’s data handling practices, high-ranking officials and lawmakers in Washington have characterized Seoul’s actions as potentially discriminatory treatment against a US-affiliated company. Earlier this month, both the US House Judiciary Committee and the White House publicly voiced concerns, asserting that the Korean authorities’ approach to the Coupang incident exemplifies unfair and excessive regulatory treatment targeting an American business.
Seoul has consistently refuted these claims, emphasizing that the investigation was conducted strictly in accordance with Korean law and regulations, without any discriminatory bias based on the company’s nationality. Despite Korea’s firm stance, a notable divergence in positions between the two governments has persisted since the initial data breach came to light.
While there has been no official announcement confirming that the Coupang matter will be formally discussed during the Industry Minister’s visit to Washington, diplomatic sources indicate that this trip represents one of the first high-level opportunities for Seoul to directly articulate its detailed position on the matter to senior US officials, aiming for a resolution to the bilateral trade disagreement.
hwkan
