South Korea Rejects U.S. Report Alleging Discriminatory Probe of Coupang Data Leak

South Korea's presidential office on July 3 rejected a U.S. House Judiciary Committee report that accused the government of discriminatory attacks on Coupang Inc. over a customer data leak investigation.

National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said during a press briefing that the report's claims were far from the facts. He stated that South Korea neither discriminates against companies based on nationality nor conducts targeted investigations. The probe into Coupang is being carried out without discrimination in accordance with due process under domestic law, Wi added.

Coupang has acknowledged that the data leak involved more than 33 million user accounts. Wi noted that the breach could have affected U.S. citizens living in South Korea. He compared the scale to a hypothetical incident in the United States involving personal information of two-thirds of the population leaked to China.

Wi denied allegations in the report that the National Intelligence Service or a high-level presidential official was involved in retrieving an IT gadget from China belonging to a suspect. He said the report appears to have reflected only Coupang's unilateral claims. The National Assembly issued a statement expressing regret over the report, saying the U.S.

Assessment was based on only a limited set of facts. South Korean lawmakers questioned Coupang officials, including interim CEO Harold Rogers, during parliamentary hearings in December 2025 over the personal data leak. The statement said the hearing was lawfully convened in accordance with the National Assembly Act and was not an exceptional procedure targeting a specific company.