Korea’s FTC Vows Independent Enforcement as Coupang Dispute Draws US Pressure

South Korea’s antitrust regulator has pledged to continue enforcing competition law independently as scrutiny from Washington intensifies over its treatment of Coupang, the US-listed e-commerce company.

Fair Trade Commission Chairman Ju Biung-ghi told reporters in Sejong on Monday that the agency would not be swayed by US pressure and would continue applying the law in a fair and nondiscriminatory manner. He said any formal response to Washington should be handled through South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs rather than through direct exchanges between the regulator and US lawmakers.

The dispute has widened beyond a domestic enforcement matter after the US House Judiciary Committee accused Korean authorities of subjecting Coupang to excessive investigations and penalties. A US lawmaker later introduced legislation that would allow authorities to restrict entry or order the removal of foreign officials deemed to have used government powers to discriminate against American companies. The Coupang case was cited as an example.

Ju’s remarks signal that the FTC intends to separate regulatory decisions from the diplomatic management of the disagreement. That distinction is important for Seoul, which faces pressure to prevent the dispute from spilling further into broader trade and political relations with Washington while preserving the independence of its domestic enforcement institutions.

Coupang has faced regulatory scrutiny since a major data breach affecting more than 37 million users. South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission imposed a record fine of 624.7 billion won, equivalent to about $451 million, over the incident. Washington has portrayed the wider regulatory response as evidence of unfair treatment of a US company, while Seoul has maintained that its rules are applied according to Korean law regardless of corporate nationality.

The FTC chairman also argued that enforcement involving overseas companies is not a new policy. He said South Korea’s role as a major information technology market has required active competition-law enforcement against foreign businesses for more than 25 years.

The immediate business risk is that a regulatory case involving one of Korea’s largest online retailers could become entangled with bilateral economic policy. Ju’s position leaves the foreign ministry responsible for addressing US concerns while the commission continues its investigations and enforcement work. Whether that division can contain the dispute will depend on how Washington responds and whether both governments can keep competition policy separate from wider trade negotiations.