https://n.news.naver.com/article/014/0005467562?sid=101
After meeting with U.S. lobbyists, Coupang changed its website description to label itself a “U.S. Tech Company.”
This happened yesterday. Today, they claimed it was an error and reverted the chsnge. But anyone who undsrstand software will know this canr just happen by itself.
https://www.ajunews.com/view/20260125082631425
This is a bold move for a company that operates and employs almost exclusively in South Korea. While the holding company is incorporated in Delaware, the core business, revenue, and workforce are overwhelmingly Korean.
Calling itself a “tech company” also feels like a stretch. Although Coupang often markets itself as the “Amazon of Korea,” its business model is closer to a combination of Temu and DoorDash.
The company does not develop meaningful proprietary technology, and many sellers simply import low-cost goods from China and resell them domestically.
If Coupang is trying to rebrand itself as a U.S. company rather than a Korean one, doesn’t that make everything look worse? Worker deaths, perjury in court, the leak of personal data from nearly half the population to China, and other alleged crimes, how does any of this look when attributed to a “foreign entity” operating in Korea?
What do Koreans think about this recent development and the situation in general?
https://i.redd.it/w0h05lcgkgfg1.jpeg
Posted by throwawaydonaldinho
8 Comments
Wait. I know Coupang is listed on US stock exchange and HQ in US. But does it operate its business in US??
If they’re going to run it like that, it honestly seems like Amazon running it would be much better.
[removed]
As a Korean, I’m really angry about this.
Our personal data was leaked and they didn’t even apologize properly.
They also ignore Korean labor laws and treat delivery workers like crap
— I mean, they even told them to *pay money if they want to take a day off*.
Then there’s all the damage they caused to Korean sellers:
they forced sellers to lower their prices compared to other platforms,
and when a product started selling well, they would steal it.
They literally contacted the factories that supplied the raw materials
and turned it into a global product themselves.
On top of that, they lied to law enforcement.
They claimed they caught the person who leaked the data in cooperation with the police,
and that only about 3,000 accounts were affected —
but the “cooperation” part was a lie, and they’re not even a legal authority,
so why are *they* identifying suspects and making official announcements?
If they really identified a suspect, the proper procedure would be to hand them over to the police.
It’s basically disrespecting our legal system.
And in the middle of all this, they suddenly dragged the U.S. into it
and started claiming they’re being “witch-hunted”, which is just fucking ridiculous.
Amazon is right to call itself a tech company because server operations and data centers account for them more than a half, but Coupang calling itself a tech corp is ridiculous since 99% of their services are logistics and retailing.
Wework flashback
OnlyFans is more U.S. tech than Coupang.
Coupang is largely a Korean infrastructure play.
Here in the US, I was watching an NBA game weeks ago, and the court sideline ads were all for Coupang, and it confused me. Then I looked it up, and found that they’re starting to get into the US market. But it seems weird to me to re-brand as a US company. Maybe to avoid backlash/tariffs for being Korean?
>After meeting with U.S. lobbyists, Coupang changed its website description to label itself a “U.S. Tech Company.”
>This happened yesterday. Today, they claimed it was an error and reverted the chsnge. But anyone who undsrstand software will know this canr just happen by itself.
It’s there in big letters on [this website](https://www.aboutcoupang.com/). Nothing has changed.
Edit: After looking up [their Wikipedia entry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coupang), the American ties are starting to make sense:
>**Coupang, Inc.** (Korean: 쿠팡) is an American- South-Korean-founded Delaware-incorporated technology and online retail company headquartered in Seattle, Washington.[5][6][7] Founded in 2010 by Bom Kim, the company operates a retail business, food delivery service, and OTT streaming service, with offices and operations in South Korea, Taiwan, the United States, India, and Singapore.[8][9]
And from [Bom Kim’s entry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bom_Kim)
>**Kim Beomseok** (Korean: 김범석; born October 7, 1978), known professionally in the West as **Bom Kim**, is an American businessman of South Korean origin, who is the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Coupang Inc.
>Kim was born in Seoul, South Korea on October 7, 1978. At his age of 7, he and his family moved to the United States.[5] He went to Deerfield Academy, a boarding school in Massachusetts, where he was on the varsity wrestling and track teams.[6] He graduated from Harvard College with a bachelor’s degree,[7] and attended Harvard Business School, dropping out in his second semester.[4]
>Kim interned at *The New Republic*, started a student magazine, *Current*, and worked briefly at Boston Consulting Group prior to founding the magazine *02138*, named for Harvard’s ZIP Code. He raised $4 million to fund *02138* and started Coupang after it folded.[7][8]