WASHINGTON—South Korea's top trade officials held high-level meetings with their U.S. counterparts on Sunday, in a last-ditch effort to prevent Washington from launching a Section 301 investigation into alleged discrimination against Coupang.
Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jung-kwan and Deputy Minister for Trade Negotiations Yeo Han-koo met separately with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Washington, D.C., according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
Kim traveled directly to Washington after completing a trip to Canada to support bids for the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project.
During his meeting with Lutnick, Kim shared updates on Korea's implementation of tariff agreements and discussed ways to strengthen strategic investment cooperation between the two countries. He also emphasized that existing U.S.-Korea tariff agreements must be effectively honored as the U.S. proceeds with tariff policies following the Supreme Court's ruling on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
Yeo and Greer agreed to convene a U.S.-Korea FTA Joint Committee "at an appropriate time" to finalize implementation plans for non-tariff measures. Yeo conveyed Seoul's position that the Section 301 petition filed by Coupang investors should not negatively affect bilateral trade relations.
Coupang investors filed the petition alleging that Korean government regulations unfairly disadvantage U.S. companies. USTR must notify its decision on whether to initiate an investigation by Monday.
Seoul is reportedly more concerned that Washington may use the case to challenge Korea's broader digital regulations—including online platform rules, intellectual property rights, and digital services taxes—rather than focusing solely on Coupang.
"If personal data of 80% of Americans were transferred overseas, how would the U.S. respond?" Kim said at a press briefing last month, describing how he explained Korea's position. "When I put it that way, the U.S. side seems to understand to some extent."
Kim and Yeo are scheduled to return to Korea on Tuesday and attend a National Assembly committee session on Wednesday.
