Coupang spends $1M on U.S. lobbying amid trade tensions with South Korea
This year alone, e-commerce giant Coupang spent more than $1 million on lobbying activities in the United States, including efforts involving the White House and Congress, since its massive data leak scandal in South Korea erupted in November 2025, according to U.S. lobbying reports on Thursday.
On the U.S. Senate website for Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 reports, Coupang, a U.S.-listed firm, has filed a report that it spent $1.09 million during the first quarter of this year. A report by a lobbying firm representing Coupang showed that its activities involved the Executive Office of the President, the vice president, the Senate, the House of Representatives, the Commerce Department and the U.S. Trade Representative.
The report came amid concerns that Coupang's extensive lobbying in the United States could undermine Seoul's efforts to strengthen the longstanding bilateral alliance with Washington in the face of shared challenges, including North Korea's nuclear threats.
Just this month, Republican lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives publicly called out the South Korean government for 'discriminatory' actions targeting U.S. companies operating in South Korea in an official letter to the South Korean embassy.
The letter marked the latest escalation in a series of Republican complaints over South Korean regulatory actions affecting U.S. technology and e-commerce companies, particularly Coupang, which is headquartered in the United States while predominantly operating in South Korea.
South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok met with U.S. Vice President JD Vance in Washington in January. After the meeting, Kim told reporters that Vance requested that Seoul and Washington manage the issue well to ensure that the Coupang case would not cause misunderstandings between the two governments.
Regarding lobbying issues, Coupang said in its report that its activities involved discussions about the expanded use of Coupang's digital, retail and logistics offerings by U.S. small- and medium-sized firms and other businesses, as well as U.S. job creation and economic growth.
Lobbying companies said in their reports that their activities concerned U.S. export promotion and efforts to increase trade and investment flows between countries in North America, Asia and Europe.
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