Seoul: Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon stated on Wednesday that the South Korean government's investigation into Coupang Inc., the South Korean unit of the U.S.-listed e-commerce company, is being conducted based on legal principles without any discrimination. This statement comes in response to criticisms from U.S. political circles.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Bae's remarks were made during a parliamentary session following the initiation of an investigation by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. The committee began examining what it perceives as South Korea's "discriminatory targeting" of American companies last Thursday.

Bae addressed a lawmaker's inquiry about whether the South Korean government had taken discriminatory actions against Coupang by affirming that the probe is being carried out in accordance with the law and established principles.

The investigation into Coupang was prompted by a significant data breach reported by the company in November. Initially, Coupang claimed that data from only 3,000 accounts had been compromised. However, a subsequent joint public-private investigation revealed on Tuesday that over 33.6 million accounts were actually exposed.

Bae noted that while the information from the 33.67 million accounts could be stored on a hard disk for cloud accounts, Coupang has not provided a clear explanation regarding the breach. He emphasized the government's responsibility to thoroughly investigate and disclose the facts.

Coupang's services, which include overnight delivery of groceries and daily necessities, make it one of South Korea's leading shopping platforms. The data breach could potentially impact approximately two-thirds of the country's population.