South Korean Minister to Attend Shipbuilding Center Opening as U.S. Criticizes Coupang Probes

Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan will travel to Washington this week to attend the opening ceremony of the Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Center on Thursday local time. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is expected to attend the event, where the two sides plan to discuss ways to advance bilateral cooperation in the shipbuilding industry.

Kim and Lutnick previously held talks in Washington on May 8, 2026. South Korea and the United States signed an MOU to advance shipbuilding cooperation ahead of the center's launch. The visit occurs as U.S.

Officials have raised concerns over South Korean regulatory probes into a data leak at Coupang. A House Judiciary Committee report and a White House official recently described the investigations as discriminatory. The South Korean government stated that the probe is being carried out without discrimination in accordance with due process under domestic law.

A police investigation found the data leak reported late last year affected nearly 34 million user accounts at Coupang. That figure represents nearly two thirds of South Korea's population of about 51.6 million. Coupang maintained through its own investigation that the incident affected only about 3,000 customers.

South Korean Ambassador to the United States Kang Kyung-wha returned to Seoul last week for consultations with government agencies on bilateral issues. The Seoul envoy said South Korea and the United States share the need to stably manage the Coupang issue.