Two American investors in the e-commerce giant Coupang have informed the South Korean government of their intention to initiate arbitration proceedings due to alleged discriminatory actions against the US-listed company. Greenoaks Capital Partners and Altimeter Capital Management raised concerns over South Korean authorities’ investigations into Coupang following a significant customer data breach in November. The investors, with equity interests exceeding $1.5 billion in Coupang, have sought a US government inquiry into the matter.
The Seoul government, in collaboration with experts, has been investigating the data leak incident affecting approximately 33.7 million customers. Coupang, however, maintains that the breach only impacted around 3,000 accounts. In a notification directed to President Lee Jae Myung and Chung Hong-sik, the deputy minister for international legal affairs at Seoul’s justice ministry, the US investors indicated their plans to file arbitration claims under the South Korea-US free trade agreement.
In a separate communication to the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), the investors urged Washington to investigate what they perceive as unreasonable and discriminatory actions by the South Korean government against Coupang. They have invoked Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 and requested appropriate trade remedies. The investors alleged that South Korea’s regulatory actions and policy enforcement towards Coupang surpass those imposed on its local Korean and Chinese rivals.
