U.S. lawmaker cites Seoul's fines for Coupang in bill on travel ban on foreign officials

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Michael Baumgartner, a Republican from Washington, has introduced legislation that would ban foreign officials who discriminate against U.S. companies from entering the United States, explicitly citing Korea's fines against Coupang. 

“Congressional oversight, diplomatic directives and bilateral engagement remain important tools, but they are often insufficient. At the other end of the spectrum, a formal investigation or renegotiation of trade agreements by the Office of the United States Trade Representative is a major action with broad economic and diplomatic consequences,” Baumgartner said in a press release Thursday. “This bill creates a targeted new rung on the escalatory ladder: Foreign officials who personally use government power to discriminate against Americans should not expect the privilege of traveling to or remaining in the United States."

The bill, titled the "No Racketeers on Our Shores Act," would allow the United States to ban entry or deport foreign government officials who spearhead discriminatory regulatory actions, such as investigations, fines or taxes, against U.S. companies.  

"In South Korea, authorities subjected American-owned Coupang to dozens of investigations, thousands of document demands and a record-setting fine," Baumgartner's office said, pointing to the dispute as an example of a "growing global pattern" of foreign governments discriminating against U.S. companies detected by the House Judiciary Committee, which he sits on.

The committee also released a 35-page interim staff report in July titled "Closed for Competition: South Korea's Discriminatory Attacks on American-owned Businesses," claiming that Seoul is waging a "harassment campaign" against Coupang, a U.S. e-commerce company whose operations are largely based in Korea.

In June, Korea's Personal Information Protection Commission fined the company 642.68 billion won ($440 million) and imposed an additional administrative fine of 16.8 million won over a major data breach, citing violations of security obligations and the unlawful collection of personal information.

Baumgartner's office on Thursday also cited a fine of over $1 billion by European Union regulators against Google for violating the bloc's Digital Markets Act and restrictions imposed by the Brazilian government on large U.S.-headquartered technology platforms as reasons for introducing the bill.

The first-term lawmaker is a leading voice in U.S. Congress raising concerns over the Korean government's actions against Coupang. In April, he was among 54 Republican lawmakers who signed a letter to Korean Ambassador to the U.S. Kang Kyung-wha demanding an end to what they claimed were discriminatory and politically motivated measures against U.S. companies, citing a review of a potential business suspension, a raid on company headquarters in Seoul, fines and a tax investigation as examples.

Coupang, meanwhile, has ramped up lobbying efforts with the Donald Trump administration and Congress. According to a disclosure report released by the U.S. Senate on July 15 under the Lobbying Disclosure Act, Coupang paid $250,000 in the second quarter to Ballard Partners, a firm with close ties to President Trump, to lobby the White House, the House of Representatives and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

While there is significant sentiment within Congress opposing what lawmakers view as excessive or discriminatory foreign regulation of U.S. companies, observers say the bill is unlikely to pass both the House and the Senate. With the midterm elections approaching in November, Congress is expected to prioritize more pressing items such as next year's budget, the National Defense Authorization Act and tax legislation, potentially pushing Baumgartner's bill down the agenda. The Senate has also traditionally placed a strong emphasis on diplomatic relations with allies, and observers say the chamber may take a cautious approach to legislation that risks friction with a specific country.

BY KIM HYOUNG-GU [[email protected]]