Prime Minister Kim Min-seok speaks during a press conference with reporters covering his office at the government complex in Seoul on Aug. 19, 2025. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea on Friday rejected claims by U.S.-based investors in Coupang that the government had targeted the e-commerce giant, calling their use of remarks by Prime Minister Kim Min-seok in a planned international arbitration case a “deliberate distortion.”
The Office for Government Policy Coordination said an arbitration notice submitted by the investors — Green Oaks and Altimeter — selectively quoted Kim’s comments in a way that stripped them of context and falsely suggested they were directed at Coupang.
According to the government, the remarks in question were made during a December policy briefing involving financial and competition regulators, where Kim stressed the need to correct long-standing unfair business practices and strengthen market discipline to restore investor confidence. Officials said the comments were never intended to single out any company or foreign-owned firm, and that Coupang was not mentioned at all.
At the time, Kim used a metaphor likening market reform to the resolve required to dismantle organized crime — language the investors later claimed was aimed “at Coupang” in their notice of intent to pursue investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) proceedings.
A Coupang logistics center in Seoul. (Yonhap)
The investors have argued that South Korean authorities launched an unfair and politically motivated campaign against Coupang following a massive data breach disclosed last year, accusing regulators of using the incident as a pretext for excessive scrutiny and reputational damage.
The government dismissed that interpretation, saying the investors had misrepresented Kim’s remarks to support allegations that Seoul had deliberately targeted the U.S.-listed company to protect domestic firms.
Officials said regulatory actions related to the data breach were conducted in line with standard procedures and should not be conflated with trade or investment disputes, underscoring that enforcement efforts were applied fairly and without discrimination.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
