Industry Minister Kim To Visit U.S. For Shipbuilding Center Ceremony, With Coupang Talks In Focus

According to Yonhap, South Korean Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan will visit the United States this week to attend the opening ceremony of the Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Center on Thursday local time, with discussions on bilateral shipbuilding cooperation expected to be on the agenda. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is also expected to attend. The trip comes as Seoul faces continued complaints from Washington over the probe into a massive data leak at U.S.-listed e-commerce giant Coupang Inc., which has become a source of friction between the allies. South Korean officials said Kim could use the visit to explain Seoul's position after a House Judiciary Committee report and a White House official criticized South Korea's regulatory probes as discriminatory. South Korea has said the investigation is being conducted without discrimination and in line with domestic due process. The data leak, reported late last year, affected nearly 34 million user accounts at Coupang, according to the outcome of a police investigation. Coupang had earlier said the incident affected about 3,000 customers, based on its own investigation.