Prime Minister Kim, U.S. Vice President Vance discuss Coupang, North Korea in Washington meeting

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok and U.S. Vice President JD.Vance pose for a photo at the White House in Washington on Jan. 23. [PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE]

 
Prime Minister Kim Min-seok met with U.S. Vice President JD Vance in Washington on Saturday, discussing Coupang's data leak and potential ways to improve relations with North Korea. 

"I will make this an opportunity for companies to realize they cannot solve problems through baseless claims or lobbying," Kim said. He emphasized that companies must address legal issues rather than try to bypass them. 


Kim held a briefing for reporters at the Korean embassy in Washington on Friday after meeting the vice president. 
 
Kim said he stressed the importance of following up on tariff negotiations between the two presidents and told Vance to take active care of the Joint Fact Sheet published by the two nations following President Lee Jae Myung's meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in November. 
 
He also highlighted Korean interests in shipbuilding, nuclear submarines and nuclear reprocessing.
 
Kim said Vice President Vance, mentioning that the U.S. "also has bureaucratic delays," agreed with Kim and said the two parties should set a specific timetable to ensure the plans are executed. 
 
Vance raised concerns about Coupang and Pastor Son Hyeon-bo first. Son, the head of Segyero Church in Busan, was arrested for violating the Public Official Election Act for allegedly expressing support for the People Power Party candidate Kim Moon-soo in 2025. 

Kim, explaining that Korea maintains a stricter separation of church and state than the United States, told Vance that he is under investigation for violating the election act. 
 
"Vance, with the premise of respecting the Korean system, requested that we manage this issue well to avoid misunderstandings," Kim said, adding that he fully agrees with Vance. 
 
Kim provided Vance with an English translation of a recent press release regarding Coupang. He explained that Coupang delayed a resolution after leaking the personal data of 33.7 million users. Kim also noted that the company directed baseless criticism at President Lee and the Prime Minister. 
 
Greenoaks and Altimeter Capital hold stakes in Coupang. Coupang recently petitioned the United States Trade Representative to investigate the Korean government for discrimination against U.S. firms. The Seattle-based e-commerce platform also sent a notice of intent for an investor-state dispute settlement to the Korean government.

The investment firms called President Lee and the Democratic Party "anti-American and pro-China" in their notice and claimed that the Korean government wants to destroy U.S. companies to help Korean and Chinese firms. 
 
"I stated clearly that we did not treat U.S. companies with discrimination," Kim said, adding that he provided the full transcript of his previous remarks to prove these claims were false. 
 
Vance, expressing understanding of the situation, said he "suspected that there were legal issues under the Korean system." Vance asked for mutual management to prevent the issue from overheating.
 
Vance also asked how the United States should approach Kim Jong Un. Kim replied that only Trump possesses the will and ability to improve relations. "Sending a special envoy to North Korea could be one approach," Kim said. 

The meeting lasted 50 minutes, 10 minutes longer than the original schedule. The two leaders exchanged direct phone numbers to establish a hotline. Kim also invited Vance to visit Korea.

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok and U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance pose for a photo at the White House in Washington on Jan. 23. [PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE]

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KANG TAE-HWA [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]