South Korea’s presidential office has strongly refuted claims that its investigation into e-commerce giant Coupang is discriminatory or biased. The denial comes in response to a report by the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, which alleged that the South Korean government was treating Coupang, an American company, unfairly.
Government Rejects Allegations of Unfair Treatment
A senior official from the Presidential Office for National Security stated on July 3rd that all investigations into Coupang are being conducted in strict accordance with domestic legal procedures and are entirely non-discriminatory. “The content of reports claiming that the investigation into Coupang is discriminatory, standardized, or involves unfair regulations is vastly different from the facts,” the official asserted during a briefing at the Presidential Office.
Addressing the allegations directly, the official drew a parallel to potential scenarios in the United States. “If similar information leakage had occurred in the United States, involving the personal information of two-thirds of the U.S. population being leaked to China, and its whereabouts unknown, it would undoubtedly be a grave issue in the U.S.,” the official explained. This statement underscored the seriousness of the ongoing investigation into Coupang’s data breach, emphasizing that the probe is proportionate to the gravity of the situation.
Scale of Data Breach and International Implications
The official detailed the extent of the data breach, stating that the investigation indicates over 33 million instances of personal information have been leaked. The breach is believed to have originated from a former Coupang employee of Chinese nationality, who allegedly conducted the leak from China. Crucially, the leaked data may also include information pertaining to U.S. citizens.
“The investigation is underway precisely because it is unclear how this leaked information has been used,” the official added. “There is a possibility that this information is still in China.” The government stressed that the investigation aims to ascertain the full scope of the breach and its potential misuse.
Discrepancies with U.S. Report
The presidential office official expressed a differing perspective from the U.S. House committee’s report. “Our perspective on this matter appears to differ from that of the U.S. House committee,” the official noted, reiterating that South Korea does not engage in discriminatory or preferential treatment towards any tech company, regardless of its origin.
The official also highlighted that while South Korea has consistently strived to communicate its position to U.S. government bodies, the recent report from the U.S. committee seemed to largely disregard South Korea’s explanations, focusing instead on Coupang’s one-sided claims. “We express regret that our explanations were not adequately reflected in the U.S. committee’s report, which primarily contained Coupang’s assertions,” the official stated, echoing sentiments previously expressed by South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Clarification on Data Recovery Incident
Furthermore, the official directly addressed and refuted the U.S. report’s characterization of Coupang’s recovery of IT equipment from a Chinese employee as a “state-sponsored” operation, with alleged involvement from the presidential office. “This is entirely untrue,” the official stated firmly.
The presidential office clarified that it had no prior knowledge of, nor involvement in, Coupang’s efforts to retrieve the data storage devices from the employee in China. The first indication of the recovery came in mid-December of the previous year, when a Coupang representative mentioned, “We have recovered it; it’s good news.”
Coupang as a ‘Victim’ and Broader Alliances
Describing Coupang as a subject of investigation and, in a sense, a victim in South Korea, the official expressed a desire for open communication. “If the U.S. side had listened to our side of the story as well, we could have resolved this through communication,” the official remarked.
Regarding concerns that the Coupang data breach could negatively impact ongoing discussions on South Korea-U.S. security cooperation, particularly concerning issues like the potential diversion of nuclear materials and uranium enrichment, the official stated, “We will make efforts to compartmentalize and separate these issues so that they do not affect the various other aspects of the South Korea-U.S. alliance.”
