“Stop the witch hunt against Coupang” “There will be consequences if the Korean government discriminates against Coupang,” the U.S. federal lawmakers who said this were all found to be directly entangled in a lobbying net woven by Coupang with political money and personal connections.

At a hearing on foreign digital regulation held on the 13th (local time) by the Trade Subcommittee of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Adrian Smith (Republican·Nebraska) stated that “the Korean government is discriminating against Coupang.” It was revealed that he received political contributions twice last year from the Coupang corporate political action committee (PAC). A PAC is a channel through which companies or organizations collect and distribute political funds to support politicians who represent their interests.

According to Federal Election Commission data released on the 14th, the Coupang PAC donated $3,500 to the campaign of Rep. Smith on April 29 last year, followed by an additional $1,500 on May 13. Smith is also the chair of the Trade Subcommittee that convened this hearing.

Also at the hearing, Rep. Carol Miller (Republican·West Virginia), who argued that the Korean government has even launched a political witch hunt against two U.S. corporate executives, previously had Joseph Faulkner serve as senior policy adviser in her office; he is currently handling Coupang lobbying at the major law firm Akin Gump. As he was a key aide, it is possible he influenced what the lawmaker said.

Lauren Rubin, who had served as legislative director and counsel to Rep. Suzan DelBene (Democratic·Washington), is likewise now working as a Coupang lobbyist at Akin Gump. During the hearing, DelBene said, “I heard from companies like Coupang in my district that Korean regulators are violating their promise not to discriminate against U.S. companies.”

On her own profile page, Rubin says she played an important role in helping DelBene craft several landmark policies, including the consumer privacy bill, yet DelBene made no mention at the hearing of Coupang failing to protect consumer information.

There are also multiple Coupang lobbyists who are former aides with ties to the House Ways and Means Committee, raising the possibility that they were involved in arranging the hearing and setting the agenda so that Coupang would be mentioned. Akin Gump lobbyists Casey Higgins and Kelly Ann Shaw are both former trade counsels at the House Ways and Means Committee, and Kimberly Ellis of the lobbying firm Monument Advocacy touts as a strength that she ‘regularly communicates with the House Ways and Means Committee’.

In particular, Rep. Darrell Issa (Republican·California), who contributed an article to the conservative outlet the Daily Caller arguing that the U.S. government should respond forcefully to the Korean government’s discrimination against Coupang, also has a former legislative director and chief of staff, Tyler Grimm, who is now lobbying for Coupang at the firm Miller Strategies. Even after meeting Yeo Han-koo, head of trade negotiations at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, on the 12th to hear the Korean government’s position on digital regulation and Coupang, Issa wrote on X that “we made it clear that unjust treatment targeting U.S. tech companies and unfair treatment of Coupang cannot be tolerated,” adding, “there will be consequences for state-supported hostility toward U.S. companies.”