Trump Administration Pressures with Section 301 Tariffs Amid House Judiciary Committee’s Official Investigation into ‘Coupang Incident’,
Harold Rogers, interim representative of Coupang Korea, is returning home after testifying at a U.S. House of Representatives hearing in Washington, D.C., on Korea’s discriminatory treatment of Coupang on February 23, 2026. ⓒ News1 Correspondent Ryu Jeong-min,
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, ‘(Washington = News1) Correspondent Ryu Jeong-min = Harold Rogers, interim representative of Coupang Korea, responded to a closed-door investigation by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee for about 7 hours on February 23, local time.’,
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, ‘Rogers entered Room 2237, on the second floor of the Rayburn Building at the Federal Capitol in Washington, D.C., at approximately 9:42 a.m. on the same day.’,
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, “Rogers did not answer any questions from Korean reporters, such as ‘What position will you state today?’ and entered the meeting room silently.”,
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, ‘In the meeting, staff from the congressional offices and legal representatives were apparently at the center of questioning, listening to testimonies from Rogers and other Coupang representatives.’,
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, ‘There was no sight of Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and Scott Fitzgerald, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform and Antitrust, who sent a subpoena to Rogers.’,
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, ‘During lunch, only the legal representatives and staff from the Judiciary Committee left the meeting room and returned, while Rogers and other Coupang figures were briefly seen eating delivered food such as sandwiches and salads through a gap.’,
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, ‘The spokesperson for the Judiciary Committee told Korean reporters in front of the meeting room, “Everything is discussed in the meeting,” but stated, “It’s a closed-door testimony, so detailed content cannot be disclosed.”‘,
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, ‘Rogers left the meeting room at 5:02 p.m., approximately seven hours after entering.’,
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, “He evaded questions such as ‘What was the core agenda today?’ or ‘What did you testify about?’ and silently left the building.”,
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, ‘Earlier, on the 5th of this month, Chairman Jordan and Chairman Fitzgerald issued a subpoena to Rogers demanding his deposition, accompanied by a letter requesting all documents corresponding with the Korean government and written materials on the impact Korean investigations might have on Coupang.’,
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, ‘Based on these records, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee is expected to question Rogers to determine if various sanctions by the Korean government constitute discriminatory treatment against Coupang.’,
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, ‘They remarked in the letter, “Despite trade agreements that require U.S. companies not to be discriminated against, Korean regulatory authorities have repeatedly imposed discriminatory treatment, unfair enforcement, and threats of criminal punishment.”‘,
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, ‘They also claimed, “President Lee Jae-myung demanded active penalties and enormous fines on Coupang, and the Fair Trade Commission hinted at suspending Coupang’s operations.”‘,
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, ‘The U.S. House emphasized the necessity of establishing effective legislation that may include new laws to protect U.S. businesses and citizens from foreign governmental discriminatory laws and enforcement, investigating the scope and nature of these efforts as well as how they affect Americans’ due process rights and global competitiveness.’,
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, ‘The issue with Coupang has led to a full-scale investigation into whether Korea’s digital regulations are infringing on U.S. businesses’ due process and global competitiveness, with plans to draft new protective laws to block foreign government regulations based on these findings.’,
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, ‘Rogers was appointed the interim representative of Coupang Korea following a large-scale data breach involving 33.7 million individuals. The Korean National Assembly originally sought to summon Kim Beom-seok, the Chairman of Coupang Inc’s Board of Directors (U.S. headquarters), and Rogers for a hearing, but only Rogers appeared before the Science and Technology Information Communication Committee in December last year. Subsequently, Rogers faced police investigations over allegations of evidence destruction and perjury.’,
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, ‘The issuance of this subpoena draws attention amid extreme sensitivity within the U.S. Congress and administration regarding foreign government regulation of domestic technology companies.’,
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, “Although the Supreme Court ruled against the reciprocal tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), Trump decided to impose a 15% ‘global tariff’ starting on the 24th using Trade Act Section 122.”,
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, ‘Particularly, the Trump administration is pressuring trading partners including Korea through Section 301 of the Trade Act, which grants the administration the authority to impose tariffs in response to unfair or unreasonable discriminatory policies and practices by foreign governments.’,
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, ‘In Korea’s case, there’s a high likelihood of raising issues regarding discrimination against digital technology companies.’,
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, ‘The U.S. government has also criticized the recently proposed bills in the Korean National Assembly related to online platforms and the recently enacted Misleading Information Prevention Act (an amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act) as measures discriminating against U.S. technology companies.’,
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Harold Rogers, interim representative of Coupang Korea, taking a break during testimony at a U.S. House of Representatives hearing on discrimination against Coupang in the Rayburn Building, Washington, D.C., on February 23, 2026. ⓒ News1 Correspondent Ryu Jeong-min,