1 month ago
When South Korea’s biggest online retailer revealed past twelvemonth that a information breach had compromised tens of millions of customer accounts, it appeared to beryllium a firm crisis. But 5 months later nan rumor has grown into a negotiated storm, threatening to further degrade relations betwixt Seoul and nan Trump administration.
Coupang – often described arsenic South Korea’s reply to Amazon – is nominally a Korean institution but operates from Seattle, is listed connected nan New York Stock Exchange, and is tally by Korean-American billionaire Bom Kim. In November past twelvemonth nan institution disclosed that a erstwhile worker had stolen an soul information key, enabling unauthorised entree to information from 33.7 cardinal users.
The breach triggered a wide activity to wantonness nan work and a sweeping authorities response. Police raided nan company’s Seoul headquarters, taxation authorities launched a typical audit, and parliament summoned executives for questioning. Kim refused to recreation to Korea for hearings, citing his domiciled arsenic a world main executive and Korean constabulary person requested that migration authorities notify them if he enters nan country.
Reports propose that nan spot of Seoul’s consequence whitethorn person jeopardised relations pinch nan US, adding to tensions successful an confederation which is captious to South Korea’s nationalist security.
Korean broadcaster SBS reported this week that Washington had signalled it would not proceed pinch high-level negotiated and defence consultations unless South Korea guaranteed Kim would look nary ineligible consequences successful relationship pinch nan information breach.
South Korea’s overseas ministry has not denied nan study but said successful a connection that “security discussions should proceed separately from nan Coupang matter” and that investigations of nan information breach would proceed nether Korean law.
The US embassy successful Seoul refused to remark connected nan matter.
The conflict has affected talks connected US support for South Korea’s development of nuclear-powered submarines, SBS reported. Korean officials opportunity a scheduled sojourn from a US delegations has been postponed.
The rumor complete Coupang is 1 of respective tensions that person emerged betwixt Seoul and Washington nether nan Trump administration. In September, an immigration raid astatine a Hyundai-LG artillery works successful Georgia detained much than 300 South Korean workers, sparking nationalist outrage.
The US has besides reportedly partly restricted intelligence sharing aft South Korea’s unification curate publically identified a suspected North Korean atomic site. In January, Trump threatened to raise tariffs connected South Korean equipment from 15% to 25%.
Coupang spent complete $3m lobbying nan US authorities successful 2025, bringing its full spending since 2021 to much than $11m, according to nationalist information compiled by OpenSecrets, a non-profit that tracks lobbying.
In nan first 4th of 2026, Coupang doubled its spending connected Washington lobbying compared to nan aforesaid play successful 2025, pinch filings showing outreach to nan White House, including nan executive agency of nan president and nan vice-president’s office.
In January, vice-president JD Vance raised nan Coupang rumor erstwhile South Korean premier curate Kim Min-seok visited Washington, expressing dream it could beryllium “resolved reasonably to debar tension”.
On 21 April, 54 Republican members of Congress wrote to South Korea’s ambassador accusing Seoul of “discriminatory actions” against US companies and of launching a “whole-of-government assault” connected Coupang complete what they characterised arsenic a “low-sensitivity information leak”.
It remains unclear why Congress and immoderate members of nan Trump management person taken up nan Coupang rumor truthful strongly.
Five US finance firms that clasp Coupang shares revenge notices earlier this twelvemonth of intent to prosecute arbitration against South Korea nether nan US-Korea free waste and acquisition agreement, claiming Seoul’s enforcement consequence was disproportionate compared to akin cases involving Korean companies. The arbitration process remains active.
Jaechun Kim, a professor of world relations astatine Sogang University successful Seoul, said nan basal rumor is not whether South Korea has nan ineligible correct to modulate companies successful its jurisdiction but really specified actions are perceived and politicised wrong nan confederation framework.
The Trump administration’s inclination to blur economical and information issues into a azygous transactional model intends disputes for illustration Coupang could spill complete into areas that were antecedently insulated from retaliation, including atomic practice agreements, precocious exertion sharing, aliases moreover defence procurement decisions, he said.
“There is simply a increasing consciousness that nan US-ROK narration whitethorn beryllium approaching a captious period of strain.”
