[News Today] “Coupang lobbied White House, VP”

[LEAD]

Coupang's U.S. parent company, Coupang Inc has stepped up lobbying efforts in Washington following its massive data breach controversy. In just the first quarter, it spent about USD 1.09 million, targeting a wide range of officials, including the White House and the Vice President.

[REPORT]

Coupang's U.S. based parent company Coupang Inc. has reported that it spent USD 1.09 million on lobbying through March of this year.

That's about KRW 1.6 billion Korean.

The sum was cited in a report submitted on April 17 local time in line with the U.S. Senate's Lobbying Disclosure Act.

Given that the company spent around 500,000 dollars per quarter on lobbying last year, this means it spent nearly twice as much on lobbying after the massive data breach at Coupang.

Its lobbying targets included a wide range of institutions.

According to the filings from firms that carried out lobbying activities for Coupang, they contacted lawmakers in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, as well as multiple government agencies including the Department of State and the Department of the Treasury.

They also contacted the White House chief of staff and U.S. Vice President JD Vance.

The reasons behind lobbying included the expansion of the use of Coupang services among U.S. producers, job creation in the U.S., and strengthening economic relations between the U.S. and its allies, including Korea.

Recently, U.S. Republican lawmakers sent a letter to the Korean ambassador, urging a stop to what they called "discriminatory action" against American companies such as Coupang.

When Prime Minister Kim Min-seok visited the U.S. back in January, he was asked about Coupang by Vice President Vance.

The Korean government said measures taken against Coupang are in line with domestic law and do not entail any discrimination or have anything to do with the company's country of origin.