Darrell Issa (R-California), a hardline Republican congressman, has drawn attention by publicly stating at a US congressional hearing that Korea is tilting to the left.
At a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Wednesday (local time), Issa told Secretary of State Marco Rubio that "Korea's democracy has tilted strongly to the left and is opening more pathways to China," noting that "in fact, they have begun to suppress many of our companies, including Meta and Coupang." Issa also requested that a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) column be entered into the meeting record, containing arguments by US conservative figures suggesting the Korean government is becoming left-leaning.
In response, Rubio said, "In democratic countries, sometimes they elect leaders more favorable to US national interests, as in Japan's case, and sometimes they elect leaders with different perspectives." Regarding Issa's point that US companies such as Coupang and Meta face discrimination in Korea, Rubio said, "Frankly, I think this has affected our ability to reach a trade agreement with Korea," adding, "because of some of their attitudes toward US companies."
Issa, a 12-term congressman, has made Southern California, where Big Tech wields significant influence, his main base. His hardline remarks appear to stem from his experience as a former Army officer and his business background of opening a factory in China. The founder of Directed Electronics, an automotive security device company, said at a 2005 congressional hearing that he had suffered damage from Chinese counterfeit products. Issa emphasized the need for regulation, saying, "The company acquired the premium speaker brand ADS, but a counterfeit factory was operating near the Chinese plant that manufactured the speakers." Since then, Issa has maintained an anti-China stance, participating in the activities of a pro-Taiwan group within Congress and criticizing China for "systematically stealing US intellectual property."
He is also known to have played a key role in a protest letter sent in April this year by 54 members of the Republican Study Committee (RSC) to Korean Ambassador to the US Kang Kyung-wha, demanding an end to discriminatory treatment of US companies such as Coupang. Coupang's lobbying was reportedly also involved. According to the US Federal Election Commission (FEC), Issa received a $5,000 (about 7.6 million won) donation from Coupang's corporate Political Action Committee (PAC) last November.
