South Korea is losing America’s trust

OPINION:

A year ago, Seoul promised Washington that American companies would not be discriminated against or face unnecessary barriers in South Korea’s digital market. It has yet to deliver on that promise.

The Korea Strategic Trade and Investment Deal, announced in November 2025, specifically cited network usage fees and online platform regulations as barriers. Then-Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo subsequently urged his government to ensure that “key non-tariff issues are managed in a stable manner and do not become tied to tariff measures” at a government meeting on trade promotion.

The plan was to have a joint U.S.-Korea FTA Joint Committee meeting to follow up in December 2025. That meeting was canceled, and it still has not happened.

The Trump administration has kept up the pressure. In January, U.S. officials urged Seoul to honor its trade commitments. In April, the U.S. Commerce Department reported that Washington was still pressing South Korea to remove non-tariff barriers.

On Sept. 18, in a meeting with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasized the need to treat U.S. companies fairly. U.S. Ambassador to Korea Michelle Steel reiterated this point at a Wednesday luncheon hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea.

A major focus of this frustration is Korea Fair Trade Commission Chairman Ju Byung-ghi, who has been pursuing an agenda critics say discriminates against American companies since assuming his role.

Perhaps it is no surprise that People Power Party lawmakers on South Korea’s National Assembly National Policy Committee are calling for Mr. Ju to step down, recognizing that he has become a major source of friction. They say his comments during a recent parliamentary audit showed a distorted view of companies and the market economy.

In their view, his public negative opinions about large corporations make him unfit to oversee competition policy. Calls for his resignation have also come from outside the National Assembly.

Despite this, Mr. Ju and his supporters in the National Assembly continue to push for legislation that contradicts South Korea’s commitments to prevent discrimination against U.S. digital services and reduce market barriers. The proposed Online Platform Fairness Act would require disclosure of sensitive business information, while the proposed delivery platform price control bill would impose price caps.

Both would broaden the Korea Fair Trade Commission’s enforcement powers through steep fines and potential criminal penalties, ultimately undermining due process protections. These policies would enable further discriminatory enforcement and make it harder for U.S. platforms to compete fairly in South Korea, where they already face obstacles to fair market access.

An October 2026 report by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation shows that the Korea Fair Trade Commission is hitting American companies harder than domestic competitors, with the average penalty against a U.S. firm over the past 10 years reaching 21 times that imposed on Korean companies.

A report by the Computer & Communications Industry Association, using the same data, notes that this disparity remains four to seven times higher for U.S. firms, based on the amount of business they do in South Korea.

Mr. Ju’s remarks about large corporations, along with his aggressive and politically driven investigations, undermine the growth of South Korea’s market. Large corporations, including U.S. firms, are being burdened by these investigations that divert public resources from more necessary services.

South Korea’s failure to follow through on its commitments should be a warning as the United States negotiates with other Asian partners.

Vietnam says its trade talks with Washington are largely complete, while Thailand’s prime minister says the two countries are close to finalizing an agreement. These negotiations offer a chance to learn from Korea’s experience.

The clock is ticking for South Korea. Partners cannot be patient forever. Trade commitments need clear steps, timelines and reviews. With new agreements nearing the finish line, Washington should ensure it can measure whether promised market access translates into real results.

• Matt Mowers is a former senior White House adviser at the State Department and the executive director of the U.S.-Asia Fair Market Alliance.