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Republican Rep. Darrell Issa points to Fair Trade Commission Chairman Ju Biung-ghi’s machine-translated column during a hearing in Washington, Tuesday (local time). Captured from U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary’s YouTube
Korea and the United States are showing signs of entering another trade dispute over the former’s renewed attempts to regulate monopolistic online platforms.
Amid growing calls in Korea to legislate an online platform law following Coupang’s massive data breach that affected more than 33 million users, the U.S. government and lawmakers have warned against the proposed regulations on digital services.
A delay in Thursday’s closed-door meeting of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement Joint Committee has also been attributed to Washington’s complaints about Seoul’s pursuit of digital proposals that the Donald Trump administration views as discriminatory.
U.S. political news outlet Politico reported Friday (local time) that the committee’s first gathering since the updated Korea-U.S. trade deal was canceled due to “different views and opinions on digital policies,” citing sources familiar with the matter. The report came after Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo told reporters Wednesday that the meeting was postponed because both sides needed more time to discuss the details of the agenda.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, which takes part in the committee, has already warned of “responsive measures” against laws similar to the European Union’s Digital Markets Act, denouncing the legislation as “discriminatory.”
“The United States will take a similar approach to other countries that pursue an EU-style strategy in this area,” the office wrote on social media Wednesday.
Small business owners hold a rally at the National Assembly in Seoul, Dec. 1, to call for the legislation of the online platform law. Yonhap
U.S. lawmakers publicly expressed concern over Korea’s online platform regulations during a hearing titled “Anti-American Antitrust: How Foreign Governments Target U.S. Businesses,” held Tuesday (local time) by the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust.
Fair Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Ju Biung-ghi came under criticism during the hearing. He had emphasized the need for platform regulations during a meeting last Monday with the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea.
“In his own words, disparages America, takes us down,” said Republican Rep. Darrell Issa, referring to a previous column from Ju that criticized Trump for employing a tactic of politically exploiting the anger of white workers in the Rust Belt.
Shanker Singham, CEO of policy consultancy Competere, testified that Korea’s Online Platform Markets Act — backed by what he called a “more interventionist” FTC — imposes asymmetric burdens on U.S. digital platforms while leaving Korea’s family-controlled conglomerates less constrained.
In response to the concerns, Seoul has emphasized that it will comply with the Korea-U.S. joint fact sheet, which includes Korea’s commitment to ensuring that U.S. companies are not discriminated against and do not face unnecessary obstacles in laws and policies concerning digital services, network usage fees and online platform regulations.
Before signing the fact sheet, Korea had suspended its pursuit of online platform regulations amid strong opposition from the U.S.