South Korea's ambassador to Washington, Kang Kyung-wha (former foreign minister, now Seoul's top envoy to the United States), told a press briefing at the Korean embassy on July 8 that the two governments share a 'common understanding' to manage the Coupang controversy in a way that does not burden the broader bilateral relationship.
The dispute centres on allegations, first laid out in a report by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, that the South Korean government has discriminatorily targeted Coupang, the Seoul-listed e-commerce giant incorporated in the United States. South Korea's government flatly denies the charge, saying its regulations apply without regard to a company's nationality. The embassy plans to compile responses from the relevant Korean agencies, including the Fair Trade Commission and the Personal Information Protection Commission, and submit a formal rebuttal to the committee.
What surprised Korean diplomatic officials, according to multiple Seoul media reports, was what came next: after the committee published its findings, the White House issued a statement saying that, 'by any reasonable standard,' the Lee Jae-myung government is targeting Coupang. South Korean officials described that White House intervention as unexpected, and the embassy is still working to understand the reasoning behind it. Kang said the government has been in contact with the U.S. National Security Council to reaffirm the shared commitment to keeping the dispute contained.
On trade, Kang said Washington has indicated it intends to honour the existing bilateral tariff agreement, under which Korea's rate was reduced from 25 percent to 15 percent. She said Seoul is pressing for that balance to hold as the Trump administration pursues two separate Section 301 investigations, one citing forced labour and another citing overproduction. A 12.5 percent tariff has already been flagged under the forced-labour track; the overproduction findings are pending.
On security cooperation, Kang said talks on nuclear-powered submarine acquisition and uranium enrichment rights are advancing, with scheduling for the next round of consultations under way following a recent visit to Seoul by U.S. Under Secretary of State Allison Hooker. Shipbuilding cooperation, she added, will move through a working group once American preparations are further along.
On North Korea, Kang said no concrete progress emerged from the recent U.S.-China summit on resuming inter-Korean or North Korea-U.S. dialogue, and that Seoul is watching whether Pyongyang attends an ASEAN-related foreign ministers' meeting later this month.