The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

By Katrina Hamlin

HONG KONG, July 17 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Coupang CPNG.N is creating trouble for itself in its largest market. The $30 billion e-commerce company is based and listed in the U.S. but generates almost all its sales in South Korea. Supporters in Washington have sprung to its defence after a cyber breach last year exposed it to fines and probes in the Asian country. But the extensive U.S. campaign, partly funded by the more than $3 million the company spent on lobbying in 2025 and 2026, could backfire. A more conciliatory approach in Seoul would help CEO and founder Kim Bom fix a mess that has battered his company's market value.

Coupang's immediate response to last year’s leak, which exposed over 33 million customers’ data, was wanting. The company took days to disclose details to investors, and Kim skipped a parliamentary hearing in Korea, citing his overseas residence and commitments as head of a company operating in over 170 countries.

The excuse rankled local lawmakers. "Korea's Amazon" delivers parcels worldwide, but its website lists 18 office locations. And the involvement of U.S. politicians added to the unease. While the saga unfolded, U.S. President Donald Trump bought and sold Coupang shares and his Vice President JD Vance briefly waded into the dispute, expressing hope that the cyber breach issues could be resolved fairly.

The standoff intensified in July when the U.S. House Judiciary Committee concluded the American company is being discriminated against by an Asian country that favours homegrown champions. Among dozens of investigations in Korea, Coupang is navigating a tax audit, a probe into its membership program that bundles various services — which boosted transaction volumes per customer by some 20%, per Bernstein. Its founder may also be designated as a "controlling entity", a label that would require the company to make additional disclosures.

U.S. policymakers and executives have in the past made similar accusations against Seoul for its treatment of Ford Motor F.N, Alphabet's GOOGL.O Google and others. Unlike many of those U.S. companies, Coupang depends heavily on Korea. Although it is expanding into Japan, Taiwan and Europe, the core business, which is primarily in Korea, contributed nearly 90% of Coupang's sales last year and will account for over four-fifths of its topline through 2035, per forecasts on Visible Alpha. Having the support of Korean regulators is essential to its success.

Although Coupang's monthly active user figures have recovered to levels seen before the breach as of last month, the company's last quarterly earnings showed growth in new users had slowed to around 2% in the three months to March, from nearly 9% a year earlier. Coupang's stock is now trading at around half its 2021 IPO price. Unless Kim can wean his company off Korea faster, it is time to start making friends in Seoul, not Washington.

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CONTEXT NEWS

U.S.-listed and -headquartered e-commerce giant Coupang is facing discriminatory treatment as an American company operating in South Korea, according to a U.S. House Judiciary Committee report on July 1, noting that the company has been the subject of dozens of investigations by more than 10 Korean agencies since a cyber breach last year. South Korea’s foreign ministry has denied the allegations of discrimination.

In June, Korean authorities fined Coupang $410 million following the 2025 leak of customer information, and illegal collection of personal information. Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission said that the incident exposed personal data of more than 33 million customers.

Following the decision, Coupang said, “We regret that our proactive measures to prevent secondary harm from last year’s data leak incident, as well as our explanations based on clear facts, were not sufficiently reflected in the PIPC’s decision.”

Coupang was founded by Korean American entrepreneur Bom Kim.