Coupang Lobbied U.S. Political Circles After Data Breach, Targeting White House and Vice President

Contained in Lobbying Report Submitted to the Senate for Q1

It has been revealed that following last year's large-scale data breach, Coupang conducted extensive lobbying activities targeting U.S. political and governmental circles, including the White House and the U.S. Vice President.

A Coupang center in Seoul on February 27. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

According to the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) report of the U.S. Senate released on the 23rd (local time), Coupang Inc., Coupang's parent company, reported spending $1.09 million (approximately 1.6 billion KRW) on lobbying activities in the first quarter of this year (January to March).

There were seven lobbying firms in Washington, D.C. that carried out lobbying activities on behalf of Coupang. The combined reported income of six of these firms amounted to $695,000. One firm reported receiving less than $5,000, without specifying the exact amount.

According to the report, the targets of lobbying included not only the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives but also federal agencies such as the Department of State, Department of the Treasury, Department of Commerce, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), Department of Agriculture, and Small Business Administration. The U.S. Vice President and the White House Chief of Staff were also included among the lobbying targets.

In the report, Coupang Inc. cited the following as specific lobbying issues: "Discussions on expanding the use of Coupang's digital, retail, and logistics services by U.S. small businesses, large enterprises, and agricultural producers, as well as discussions on job creation and economic growth in the United States made possible by Coupang's business model and innovations." However, the company added that no specific legislative measures were included in relation to these matters.

The lobbying firms introduced their objectives as "discussions on promoting U.S. exports and efforts to increase trade and investment flows among North America, Asia, and European countries," as well as "discussions on efforts to strengthen economic and commercial relations between the U.S. and its allies, including Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the European Union."

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