A former security adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump has criticized the Korean parliament's moves to scrutinize e-commerce giant Coupang over a massive data leak, calling them an "aggressive targeting" of the U.S.-listed firm.
Robert O'Brien, who served as national security advisor during the first Trump administration, issued the criticism in a social media post on Tuesday, calling for a "strong, coordinated" U.S. response to protect U.S. companies.
"The National Assembly's aggressive targeting of Coupang will set the stage for further KFTC discriminatory measures & broader regulatory barriers towards U.S. firms," he wrote on X, referring to the Korea Fair Trade Commission by its initialism.
"A strong, coordinated U.S. response is essential to safeguard fair treatment of U.S. companies & maintain strategic balance against China's growing economic influence in the sector," he added.
Noting that Trump has worked to "rebalance" the trade relationship with Korea, O'Brien said that it would be "very unfortunate" if Korea undermines his efforts by targeting U.S. tech firms.
Last month, Coupang revealed that personal data of 33.7 million customers had been leaked, including names, phone numbers, email addresses and other details. The disclosure led to intense scrutiny from Korean regulators and lawmakers over the company's operations.
Yonhap