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Ruling party to send letter to Washington protesting U.S. pressure on Coupang case

Published: 27 Apr. 2026, 21:52

A pedestrian walks by a Coupang logistics center in Seoul on Feb. 10. [NEWS1]

The Democratic Party will send a joint letter of protest to the U.S. government over what it calls "interference in Korea’s judicial sovereignty," after the U.S. government threatened security talks between the two countries over the safety of Coupang Inc. Chairman Bom Kim.

Rep. Park Hong-bae of the ruling party and other lawmakers from the National Assembly committees related to Coupang's data leak last year shared a notice titled "Request for cosigners on a protest letter against U.S. infringement on judicial sovereignty” on Monday.

“The U.S. government recently demanded that [Korea] guarantee the personal safety of Coupang Chairman Bom Kim and indicated high-level talks could be suspended if this is not accepted,” Rep.Park and other lawmakers said. “This is unprecedented, to link an individual business leader’s legal risks to intergovernmental negotiations, and also a clear infringement on judicial sovereignty.”

The lawmakers also referred to a letter sent last Monday by 54 Republican lawmakers to the Korean ambassador to the United States, Kang Kyung-wha, urging Seoul to halt what they described as discriminatory measures against U.S. companies, namely Coupang.

“This goes beyond a simple diplomatic dispute or sovereignty issue and raises serious concerns about potential negative impacts on Korea’s labor rights and fair economic market order,” the lawmakers criticized. “Accepting diplomatic protection demands for a specific corporate leader while investigations and administrative measures are being carried out in accordance with domestic law and due process could set a precedent for multinational companies to evade domestic legal accountability through diplomatic pressure."

The joint signature campaign, led by Rep. Park, ran until 4 p.m. Monday. The lawmakers plan to hold a press conference at the National Assembly on Tuesday before delivering the protest letter to the U.S. embassy in Korea.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY SHIN HYE-YEON [[email protected]]