'Coupang ISDS' Dispute Escalates... U.S. Investors Submit Additional Notice of Intent to Arbitrate Against Korean Government
Previously Submitted by U.S. Firms Greenoaks and Altimeter
There is a growing move among Coupang's U.S. investors to initiate legal disputes, taking issue with the Korean government's response to Coupang's personal data leakage incident.
On February 12, the Ministry of Justice announced that Foxhaven, Durable, Abrams, and their affiliates, which are shareholders of Coupang Inc., had submitted a notice of intent to arbitrate an investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) case against the Government of the Republic of Korea under the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA). A notice of intent to arbitrate is a written notification sent to the respondent state before formally commencing arbitration. Once a 90-day cooling-off period has passed after the submission of the notice, the investors may formally file for international arbitration.
This additional filing came about 20 days after Greenoaks and Altimeter submitted their own notices of intent to arbitrate on January 22. The two firms had previously petitioned the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), arguing that Korea was mounting a whole-of-government attack on Coupang by using a limited-scale personal data leak as a pretext, and requesting appropriate trade remedies under Section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act.
The additional claimants likewise asserted in a statement that U.S. shareholders had suffered losses amounting to several billion dollars because of what they described as "selective law enforcement targeting Coupang, a technology company incorporated and headquartered in the United States, disproportionate regulatory investigations, and defamatory false allegations."
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A Ministry of Justice official stated that, in connection with the receipt of this additional notice of intent to arbitrate, the ministry will ensure a systematic and professional response centered on the International Investment Dispute Response Team.
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