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Coupang Corp.’s headquarters in Seoul. (Hankyoreh file photo)

Two US investment firms with Coupang have notified the South Korean government of their intent to bring arbitration claims against it, arguing that they suffered damages due to the whole-of-government response to the e-commerce giant’s massive personal data breach. The Korean government stated it would “respond proactively.” 

With Coupang's investors demonstrating a willingness to take legal action against the Korean government, there is the possibility of this dispute escalating into a trade conflict between Korea and the US.

On Thursday, the Ministry of Justice announced that Greenoaks Capital Partners and Altimeter Capital Management, US shareholders of Coupang, submitted a notice of intent for international investment dispute arbitration to the Korean government, based on the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement.

A notice of intent to bring arbitration claims is a written statement expressing a claimant’s intention to seek arbitration and does not constitute a formal filing. However, a formal claim can be filed 90 days after submitting the notice of intent.

The claimants, including tech investment firm Greenoaks, argue that the Korean pan-governmental response to Coupang’s data breach constitutes a violation of the Korea-US FTA agreement which has resulted in billions of dollars in damages. 

In their notice, the claimants assert that the Korean government launched an “unprecedented assault on a US company” on Dec. 1, 2025, with the National Assembly and the executive branch, among other institutions, targeting Coupang with various investigations as well as a “defamatory public relations campaign.” 

The claimants argue that this violates the Korean government’s obligation to “accord covered investments fair and equitable treatment and full protection and security (Article 11.5); to accord treatment no less favorable than that accorded to investors and investments of Korea and third countries (Articles 11.3 and 11.4); the prohibition on direct or indirect expropriation without prompt, adequate, and effective compensation.” 

In response, the Ministry of Justice stated the Korean government will establish a “joint response system centering on an ‘international investment dispute response team’ with relevant agencies to thoroughly review the legal issues related to the notice.” 

“We will respond proactively, working to enhance the public's right to know and procedural transparency by disclosing relevant information,” the ministry said. 

In addition, Reuters reported that Greenoaks and Altimeter have also filed a complaint with the US Trade Representative, alleging Korea’s response to the Coupang situation is “discriminatory” and requesting an investigation into the Korean government and the imposition of trade remedy measures. These companies requested the USTR to impose “appropriate trade remedies, potentially including tariffs and other sanctions” on the Korean government. They argued that the Korean government's response to the data leak far exceeds the scope of normal regulatory enforcement.

These companies claimed that the labor, financial and customs investigations being conducted by the Korean government are largely unrelated to the data incident. Marney Chee, a partner at Covington, the law firm representing Greenoaks, stated, “Our main concern is the scale and speed of the government’s response, which has led to significant damages and threatens the value of our investment.”

In November 2025, Coupang disclosed that personal data for some 33 million customers in South Korea were compromised, triggering strong political and social backlash in Korea and a broad government-level investigation. Coupang’s New York-listed shares have fallen about 27% since the company disclosed the data breach. 

Once the Korean government launched its investigations, Coupang's US parent company mobilized American politicians, claiming the Korean government was conducting a discriminatory investigation. Now the conflict has escalated even further with Coupang’s investors taking action against the Korean government.

By Kang Jae-gu, staff reporter; Jung E-gil, senior staff writer

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