Coupang has pushed back against claims that it recently pressured the Korean government through lobbying of the U.S. administration and Congress, calling the allegations untrue.
In a statement released Monday, Coupang said, "The claim that Coupang pressured the Korean government through lobbying of the U.S. administration and Congress is not true." The company added, "In particular, the assertion that there were security-related discussions is a clear falsehood."
"The Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) reports include matters related to economic cooperation between the two countries, such as expanding investment and trade with Korea, Taiwan and Japan, as well as expanding professional visas for Koreans, and do not contain any security-related issues at all," the company explained.
Coupang rejected claims recently raised in some quarters that "follow-up diplomatic and security consultations between Korea and the United States, including on nuclear-powered submarines, are being delayed because of Coupang's lobbying."
According to Coupang's first-quarter LDA report, the company listed its lobbying purposes as immigration policies including the "Partner with Korea Act," which would issue up to 15,000 U.S. professional employment visas (E4) annually to Koreans, along with "trade and investment promotion" and "strengthening economic and commercial ties with Taiwan, Japan and Europe."
"Most of the communication was trade-related for global business expansion, including Rocket Delivery in Taiwan, Farfetch which operates in 190 countries, and Rocket Now in Japan," Coupang said. "We are focused on cooperation with major countries including Korea and the United States on AI technology innovation, investment and job creation, and expansion of cross-border commerce."
The company also claimed that its lobbying expenditure is lower than that of major U.S. and Korean corporations. "Lobbying spending by major U.S. companies is three to four times higher than Coupang's. Even compared with major Korean conglomerates, Coupang's level is low," the company said. Last year's Washington lobbying expenditures by major Korean firms were Samsung Electronics ($7.41 million), SK ($5.77 million), Hanwha ($3.77 million), Hyundai Motor ($3.34 million) and Coupang ($2.27 million).
Earlier, Coupang Inc., Coupang's parent company, reported a total of $1.785 million (about 2.6 billion won) in lobbying funds for the first quarter (January-March) of this year. Of that, lobbying funds executed directly by Coupang Inc., headquartered in Seattle, Washington, totaled $1.09 million (about 1.6 billion won).
The lobbying targets included the U.S. vice president and the White House Chief of Staff's office, as well as federal legislative bodies such as the Senate and House, and government agencies including the Department of State, Treasury Department, Commerce Department, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), the Department of Agriculture, and the Small Business Administration.
Meanwhile, 54 U.S. federal House representatives recently sent a letter to Kang Kyung-wha, Korean Ambassador to the United States, asking for discriminatory regulations against Coupang to be halted. On the matter, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik said on "Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show" Monday morning, "They can send a letter if they have opinions, but touching the laws or fundamental institutions of that country is not acceptable," calling it "a clear interference in domestic affairs."
