A Coupang delivery vehicle. Yonhap News
South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party said it will pass an online platform bill by the end of the year, pushing back after Coupang refused to allow an on-site inspection by the Fair Trade Commission.
The party said on the 26th that “Coupang cannot stand above the laws of the Republic of Korea.” Spokesperson Lee Yong-woo said an unprecedented situation had occurred in which the commission’s on-site inspection collapsed because the company under investigation refused it. Coupang is trying to avoid legitimate domestic regulation and investigation by using claims from the U.S. government and political circles about “discrimination against American companies” as a shield, the spokesperson said.
The party and the government went further, saying they would pass the online platform bill this year. The legislation had been stalled over concerns including trade friction with the United States, which has defended Coupang. Rep. Kim Nam-keun of the Democratic Party said at a hearing of the National Assembly’s Special Committee on Budget and Accounts that a mood had formed favoring shelving the online platform bill because the U.S. government and Congress oppose it. “We are a sovereign state. The online platform bill must be passed in the regular session of the National Assembly,” he said. Nam Dong-il, vice chairman of the Fair Trade Commission, said the commission holds the same position.