Civic groups condemn Coupang investors' petition against S. Korean gov't

Domestic civic groups on Friday denounced a request by two U.S. investors in e-commerce giant Coupang for the U.S. government to investigate the South Korean government's alleged discrimination against the U.S.-listed firm. The People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD), based in Seoul, issued a statement, condemning the U.S. investors' move as an attempt to violate South Korea's sovereignty by undermining its legitimate law enforcement and regulatory authority. "A U.S.-listed company, which generates the majority of its revenue in South Korea, failed to take even basic protection measures and leaked a massive amount of personal information of three quarters of the Korean population," the statement said. "Nevertheless, the American political and business communities have set out to apply diplomatic and trade pressure over the Korean government's measures. It is not the basic attitude of a civilized nation." The PSPD then urged the Seoul government to respond firmly and resolutely according to the law and principles, rather than yielding to threats from the U.S. political and