GOP lawmakers warn South Korea’s tech laws favor Chinese over US tech firms

FIRST ON FOX: Concern is mounting in Washington following last month’s election of South Korea’s liberal President Lee Jae-Myung that Seoul seeks to “disproportionately” target U.S. digital companies with new regulatory requirements while giving Chinese businesses a pass.

A group of Republican lawmakers on Wednesday are preparing to send a letter to the Trump administration urging it to take on the Korea Fair Trade Commission in its ongoing trade negotiations and block legislation currently being considered by South Korea’s president.

“The legislation mirrors the European Union’s blatantly discriminatory Digital Markets Act and would impose disparate legal and enforcement standards designed to undermine innovative business models and disadvantage successful American companies,” the letter, led by Nebraska Rep. Adrian Smith, R-NE., Chair of the House Ways & Means Trade Subcommittee, and Rep. Carol Miller, R-W.V.

Newly elected South Korean President Lee Jae-myung speaks during a press conference at the presidential office on June 04, 2025 in Seoul, South Korea.  (Photo by Ahn Young-Joon – Pool/Getty Images / Getty Images)

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The letter, first obtained by FOX Business, is addressed to U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

While the letter, signed by more than 40 lawmakers, applauds ongoing efforts to secure a trade agreement and circumvent tariffs set to be reinstated on July 8, the congressmen also warn that the current legislation being considered in Soeul “would also advance the interests of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)” by targeting American companies like Google, Apple, Coupang, and Meta, “while exempting major Chinese digital giants like ByteDance, Alibaba and Temu.”

Details of ongoing trade negotiations with Seoul remain unclear, but campaign pledges by Lee to pass legislation known as the Platform Competition Promotion Act (PCPA) prompted Miller last month to re-introduce legislation to protect American companies in South Korea with bipartisan support.

A currency trader walks by the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a foreign exchange dealing room on April 9, 2025. (Photo by Kim Jae-Hwan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)

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Criticism in Washington has been mounting over South Korea’s targeting of U.S. tech companies for years under both liberal and conservative administrations in Seoul, but Lee’s ardent support for the PCPA has sparked renewed concern.

While South Korean officials argue the legislation is an attempt to curb the U.S.’s “monopoly power” in the tech market, U.S. officials have flagged that by not also holding Chinese companies under the same legal barriers, it raises major security concerns.

Two men discuss as they look at the screens showing surging stock shares at the Taiwan Stock Exchange office, following U.S. President Donald Trump’s surprise decision to pause the global tariffs, in Taipei, Taiwan, on April 10, 2025.  (Daniel Ceng/Anadolu via Getty Images / Getty Images)

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“Allowing these companies to operate free from the regulatory burdens imposed on their U.S. competitors would substantially increase threats related to data security, disinformation, economic coercion, and espionage stemming from the CCP’s influence over such Chinese tech giants,” the letter states.

Seoul this week said it is seeking an extension to the original 90-day tariff pause set to expire in less than a week, reported Reuters. 

A White House spokesperson told Fox News Digital Trump will confirm next week whether he will grant any extensions.