Rubio says South Korea's treatment of US firms is blocking trade deal

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said South Korea's treatment of American companies has blocked progress on a bilateral trade deal with Seoul, according to The Korea Times. The remarks came during a congressional hearing where Rep. Darrell Issa accused Seoul of targeting U.S. technology firms including Coupang and Meta.

The exchange, first reported by The Korea Times, marks the clearest public link yet between Seoul's regulatory treatment of U.S. platforms and the stalled state of U.S.-South Korea trade negotiations — a dispute with direct stakes for Korean-American businesses across Orange County that depend on cross-border platforms such as Coupang.

At the hearing in Seattle, Rep. Issa argued that South Korea's democratic system had shifted sharply to the left, that Seoul had drawn closer to China, and that the country had begun targeting American technology and platform companies including Coupang and Meta, according to The Korea Times.

Rubio acknowledged the concern but widened the frame beyond Seoul. "Our companies aren't just facing challenges and getting targeted in South Korea. They're facing it throughout Europe," he said.

The secretary then connected the regulatory friction directly to the state of trade talks. "Frankly, [it has] impacted our ability to conclude a trade agreement with them because of some of their behavior toward American companies," Rubio said, referring to South Korea.

Despite the dispute, Rubio said the two countries remain aligned on broader strategic priorities. "I think this becomes a feature in our engagement with South Korea even if we have things we are strategically aligned on," he said, signaling the company treatment issue will remain a fixture in U.S.-Korea dialogue.

The hearing followed an earlier letter that Issa co-signed with dozens of House Republicans raising concerns about what they described as discriminatory treatment of U.S. firms in South Korea — a list that includes Coupang, Meta, Google and Apple.

The dispute over American companies' treatment in South Korea has grown into a recurring flashpoint in bilateral economic relations, even as the two nations maintain close security and strategic cooperation across the Indo-Pacific region.

For Korean-American entrepreneurs and consumers in Orange County who rely on platforms such as Coupang for goods moving between the two countries, the outcome of Washington's trade engagement with Seoul carries direct commercial implications.