[Editorial] US is in no position to lecture Korea about ‘fair treatment’

US Ambassador Michelle Steel speaks at the plenary of the US-Korea and Korea-US Business Council held in Seoul on Oct. 15, 2026. (Yonhap)

In remarks on Thursday, US Ambassador to Korea Michelle Steel urged Korea to fulfill its investment commitments to the US and eliminate non-tariff barriers to trade. In particular, she called for “fair treatment” of American companies operating in Korea, in an apparent reference to the Korean government’s response to a data leak at Coupang.

Steel’s remarks come alongside reports that US intelligence agencies have told the Korean government that economic disputes, including the Coupang issue, must be resolved before the US lifts restrictions on North Korean intelligence-sharing that have been in place for over six months. All in all, this smacks of excessive US meddling in the Korean government’s investigation of Coupang’s massive personal data breach, as well as the fines that Seoul has imposed on the massive e-commerce firm.

Speaking at a meeting of the Korea-US Business Council in Seoul on Thursday, Steel stressed the importance of honoring commitments made in the bilateral relationship and said she expects Korea to follow through on its pledged large-scale investment in the US. She also called for progress on the commitments outlined in the joint fact sheet released by the Korean and American leaders last year, including market access for American companies and fair treatment of those operating in Korea.

In the fact sheet, the two countries agreed “to ensure that US companies are not discriminated against and do not face unnecessary barriers in terms of laws and policies concerning digital services, including network usage fees and online platform regulations.”

The US has repeatedly claimed that Korea’s investigation of Coupang and associated actions amount to discrimination against an American company. Steel’s remarks thus constitute indirect pressure for Seoul to correct what the US regards as discriminatory treatment of Coupang.

Even more troubling is the strong possibility that the Coupang dispute is being linked to matters of diplomacy and national security. According to a report in the Hankyoreh’s Oct. 16 edition, a senior member of the ruling party said that US intelligence authorities had conveyed that restrictions on sharing intelligence about North Korea’s nuclear program would not be lifted until trust has been restored between the two countries’ intelligence agencies and until economic disputes — including the Coupang issue — have been addressed. The Americans reportedly reiterated that these issues remain unresolved because of the ongoing Coupang dispute.

At a time when North Korea’s nuclear weapon and missile technology is becoming increasingly sophisticated, it is astonishing that enforcing the law for a single company should be linked to national security issues that could decide the fate of our country.

It is also worth examining what Steel actually means by “fair treatment.” The Korean government’s policy of responding firmly to large-scale personal data breaches applies not only to Coupang but also to Korean companies such as SK Telecom. Accusations of discrimination would be justified if the government were going easy on Korean companies while treating American companies harshly. But that is not what is happening.

On the contrary, those Korean companies have sought to make things right by cooperating with investigators, making public apologies, offering compensation and taking proactive measures to prevent further incidents. But Coupang has displayed a brazen disregard for the authorities, even obstructing their investigation.

What the US wants for Coupang is not fair treatment but special treatment.

But as the saying goes, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” It is only reasonable for companies doing business in Korea to abide by Korean law — indeed, such a principle applies in every country.

Since Trump took office, the US has repeatedly made demands on Korea that are difficult to meet. After strong-arming Korea last year into agreeing to invest US$350 billion in the US, Washington has recently been trying to force Korea to treat the Alaska liquefied natural gas (LNG) development project as a done deal, even though no agreement has been reached.

The US really ought to ask itself whether it is in any position to lecture Korea about “fair treatment.”