Yeo Hangoo: "Told USTR Representative Coupang Investigation Is Not Discriminatory"

"Emphasizing the Distinction from Trade Issues"

Yeo Hangoo, Director-General for Trade Negotiations at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, stated on January 24 that he met with Jamieson Greer, United States Trade Representative (USTR), at the Davos Forum and clearly conveyed that the domestic investigation into Coupang should be addressed separately from general trade issues.

Yeo completed his four-day business trip to the World Economic Forum (WEF, Davos Forum) held in Davos, Switzerland, from January 19 to 22 (local time), and returned to Korea via Incheon International Airport on this day.

Yeo Hangoo, Director-General for Trade Negotiations at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, is meeting with Katherine Tai, United States Trade Representative, on the 22nd (local time) in Davos, Switzerland. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

According to Yonhap News Agency, he told reporters at the airport that he met with Greer, the USTR representative, at the Davos Forum and exchanged views on current trade issues between South Korea and the United States.

He also explained that he made it clear that the domestic investigation into Coupang, which was involved in a large-scale personal information leak, does not constitute discriminatory treatment against a U.S. company and is not an issue that should escalate into a trade dispute.

Yeo introduced that he told Greer, "It is not because Coupang is a U.S. company; if a Korean company had experienced such a large-scale information leak, we would have conducted the investigation in the same non-discriminatory and transparent manner."

During his visit to the United States last week, Yeo met with key members of both the House and Senate, including Greer, and explained the same position regarding the domestic investigation into Coupang, focusing on alleviating concerns about Korea's digital regulatory trends.

Regarding the possibility that the domestic investigation into Coupang could lead to trade retaliation such as tariffs, Yeo said, "It is not yet a situation where we can make such predictions," and added, "Since there is still ample time, we plan to communicate closely with the U.S. government, including the USTR, and Congress to resolve any misunderstandings as much as possible."

At this Davos Forum, Yeo also met with major U.S. figures such as Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, and Democratic Senator Chris Coons, emphasizing the need to strengthen mutually beneficial industrial cooperation and the contributions of Korean companies to investment in the United States.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.