In a letter sent to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, the lawmakers called the proposed regulation a discriminatory barrier that unfairly targets American digital companies. The effort was led by Representatives Adrian Smith of Nebraska and Carol Miller of West Virginia.
The legislation, championed by President Lee Jae Myung and previously pursued by his predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, has drawn criticism from U.S. tech firms and policymakers who argue it mirrors the European Union’s Digital Markets Act — a law that imposes strict rules on large online platforms.
"One barrier that we urge you to address in any negotiations is proposed legislation advanced by the Korea Fair Trade Commission and embraced by the new Lee Jae Myung government, which disproportionately targets U.S. digital companies for heightened regulatory requirements," the lawmakers wrote in the letter, which was posted on Representative Smith’s website.
The Republicans said the bill imposes "disparate legal and enforcement standards designed to undermine" innovative U.S. business models, while giving a pass to Chinese digital giants such as ByteDance, Alibaba and Temu. They accused the Korean government of advancing policies that “serve the strategic interests of the Chinese Communist Party.”
The lawmakers also took aim at South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission, accusing it of conducting aggressive enforcement actions — including early-morning inspections — against American firms. They claimed such tactics constrain U.S. companies’ ability to operate freely in the Korean market.
The letter marks a rare, coordinated intervention by a large bloc of congressional Republicans into a specific regulatory proposal in a close U.S. ally, and highlights the growing scrutiny of digital trade barriers abroad.
It also signals a broader willingness by Republican lawmakers to link digital market access to broader strategic concerns about China’s influence in the region.
While the Trump administration has not publicly responded to the letter, analysts here say the issue could become a sticking point in future trade negotiations with Seoul.
reporter
Kim Dong-young
davekim0807@ajupress.com
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