'Coupang issue persisting longer than expected,' Korea's top envoy to US says

Korean Ambassador to the United States Kang Kyung-wha said the conflict between Seoul and Washington over the U.S.-headquartered e-commerce firm Coupang's data breach last year is persisting longer than expected.

She made the remarks on Wednesday before meeting Foreign Minister Cho Hyun at the ministry headquarters in Seoul, after Cho requested her to come to Korea to discuss various bilateral issues affecting relations between the two countries.

As such a request for in-person discussion is unusual, her visit has brought about speculation that the Coupang issue and other bilateral matters may require deep coordination between Korea and the U.S.

When asked about the pressure coming from the U.S. with regard to Korea's handling of its Coupang investigation, Kang told reporters, “This issue is dragging on much longer than I expected," adding that Korea is managing the issue on its own while continuing to discuss other matters across various levels and on multiple fronts.

“Bilateral relations between Seoul and Washington are intertwined, which means the two have many issues to be handle ...