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The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) has submitted comments to the USTR arguing that US companies paid fines roughly 5.1 times higher than South Korean companies, based on an analysis of 1,203 Fair Trade Commission (FTC) sanctions from 2016 to 2025. It claims US firms bore 22.8% of the total 6.7 trillion won (approximately $5.0 billion) in fines despite accounting for only 1.6% of sanctioned companies. The CCIA raised the possibility of violations of national treatment obligations under the KORUS FTA and urged a Section 301 investigation and government-to-government consultations. South Korea’s FTC countered that the gap reflects large-scale, serious violations by major global companies—a “trap of averages.”
Key Elements
The US information technology industry has filed a formal complaint with the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), alleging that the South Korean Fair Trade Commission’s (FTC) fining practices discriminate against American companies. The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) claims that fines imposed by South Korea’s FTC on US companies were set as much as five times higher and has requested an investigation into whether this violates the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA).
The CCIA held an online media session on the 5th and released the findings of a study analyzing 1,203 FTC sanction decisions from 2016 to 2025. The group is an IT advocacy organization led by US Big Tech companies such as Google and Apple, and Coupang—which does most of its business in South Korea—is also a member.
According to the analysis, the total amount of fines imposed by the FTC during the period was 6.7 trillion won (approximately $5.0 billion). Of this, about 1.523 trillion won (approximately $1.1 billion), or 22.8% of the total, was imposed on US companies. By contrast, US companies accounted for only 1.6% of the number of sanctioned companies.
After comparing fine levels relative to revenue in South Korea, the CCIA said US companies faced fines 4.2 to 6.6 times higher than South Korean companies, and that even in an analysis that statistically controlled for legal provisions, industry, and sanction year, the gap came out to about 5.1 times. Looking only at abuse-of-market-dominance cases, the gap widened to 216 to 341 times. A representative example is the FTC’s imposition of about 1.03 trillion won (approximately $766.3 million) in fines on Qualcomm for unfair practices related to patent licensing.
Trevor Wagener, director of the CCIA Research Center and chief economist, who conducted the study, said, “Even if Qualcomm and Coupang are excluded from the analysis, the result that fines on US companies are higher remains statistically significant,” adding, “This is not a problem that can be explained by individual companies or a few large-scale sanction decisions alone.”
The CCIA argued that nationality-based differences also appear in the process of finalizing fines and in courts’ decisions to reduce them. Google’s fine rose 8.5% from an initially announced 207.4 billion won (approximately $154.3 million) to a final 224.9 billion won (approximately $167.3 million), and Coupang’s increased 16.3% from 140 billion won (approximately $104.2 million) to 162.8 billion won (approximately $121.1 million). Conversely, Kakao Mobility’s fell about 79% from 72.4 billion won (approximately $53.9 million) to 15.1 billion won (approximately $11.2 million), and fines on the three major mobile carriers declined 15.5% from 114 billion won (approximately $84.8 million) to 96.4 billion won (approximately $71.7 million).
The report analyzed that about 91% of the top six fines imposed on South Korean companies, by amount, were canceled, reduced, or had related rulings overturned, while about 97% of the top five fines on US companies were upheld as is.
| Category | Initially Announced | Finalized | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 207.4 billion won | 224.9 billion won | +8.5% | |
| Coupang | 140 billion won | 162.8 billion won | +16.3% |
| Kakao Mobility | 72.4 billion won | 15.1 billion won | -79% |
| Three major mobile carriers | 114 billion won | 96.4 billion won | -15.5% |
Note: Comparison of fines before and after finalization as presented by the CCIA based on its analysis of FTC sanction decisions.
Director Wagener said, “Court rulings show that South Korean companies are more likely than US companies to receive reduced fines,” explaining, “Although courts are separate from the FTC, these differences can affect the actual gap in fines borne by US companies.”
In comments submitted to the USTR on the 28th of last month, the CCIA argued that the FTC’s fining practices may violate the national treatment obligations stipulated in Article 11.3 (Investment) and Article 12.2 (Cross-Border Trade in Services) of the KORUS FTA. The comments were submitted as part of the public comment process the USTR conducted to prepare its 2027 National Trade Estimate (NTE) report, and cover multiple countries including South Korea.
Jonathan McHale, CCIA vice president for digital trade, said, “The rules themselves may be neutral, but depending on how they are actually applied, they can disadvantage certain market participants.” He added, “We are not challenging the regulator’s regulatory authority itself. The FTC needs to establish statistical evidence showing that its enforcement against foreign companies is not disproportionate,” and said, “We want to discuss criteria and indicators for judging the fairness of enforcement not only through bilateral consultations at the government level but also at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and elsewhere.”
The CCIA also shared the study results with the US government. Through the report, it recommended consultations through the KORUS FTA Joint Committee and the launch of an investigation under Section 301 of the US Trade Act into the FTC’s fining practices. Vice President McHale said, “We cited Wagener’s research findings in the comments submitted directly to the USTR and shared the related research materials with the US State Department and Commerce Department as well.”
However, during the Q&A session that day, questions continued to point out shortcomings in the research methodology. The criticism was that it is questionable whether nationality discrimination can be inferred from differences in fine amounts alone, without considering how serious the US companies’ violations were or how long they lasted. In response, Director Wagener said, “The severity of violations cannot be confirmed directly from FTC data, and evaluating it case by case takes considerable time,” adding, “If the FTC discloses additional data, we will reflect it in follow-up analysis.” Vice President McHale also said, “If additional data comes from the South Korean side, the analysis results could change,” describing the study as the first step in a legal review.
South Korea’s FTC countered that claiming nationality discrimination based on the fine gap alone is a “trap of averages.” It explained that fine ceilings differ depending on the applicable law, and that the average for South Korean companies includes small fines imposed on small and medium-sized enterprises for minor violations, making it difficult to judge discrimination through a simple comparison of averages. According to examples presented by the FTC, the ratio of fines to revenue related to violations was about 2% for Coupang, 1.8% for Naver, and 3% for Kakao Mobility’s 2023 case—meaning South Korean companies were actually higher or similar.
An FTC official said, “The FTC enforces the law under the same standards and principles without distinguishing between domestic and foreign businesses,” adding, “Whether an individual company’s conduct violates the law is judged based on specific facts and evidence.” The official added, “The high average fines on US companies reflect the influence of serious legal violations by large global companies with large related revenue, such as the Qualcomm case.”
The complaint comes as South Korean regulators continue to sanction US Big Tech companies. On the 28th of last month, the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) voted to impose a total of 63.71 billion won (approximately $47.4 million) in fines on Google and Apple for violations of the Telecommunications Business Act, including forcing in-app payments. The CCIA expressed concern that while US platform companies support the growth of South Korean small and medium-sized enterprises through various services such as cloud, app distribution, and data management, stronger regulations could reduce access to related technologies and raise costs.
The issue is drawing attention because it could escalate into a Korea-US trade friction if the US administration launches a Section 301 investigation. A Section 301 investigation is a tool through which the US can investigate unfair practices of trading partners and lead to retaliatory measures such as tariffs, so the key question is whether government-to-government consultations on the fine calculation method will begin in earnest. The debate over regulatory fairness between South Korean platform companies and US Big Tech is also expected to continue for the time being.
