"Criminal Complaint Against the Official, Media Will Also Be Held Accountable"
Coupang recently revealed that an internal employee colluded with a labor union official to leak internal documents amid allegations of 'employee list creation' controversy. The company also reiterated that it will hold the media outlet that received the related information accountable, claiming that the outlet manipulated and processed some of the materials.
Coupang's logistics subsidiary, Coupang Fulfillment Service (CFS), stated in a press release on the 15th, "We have confirmed circumstances where employee A colluded with labor union official B from the same department to leak dozens of company technical and business confidential documents, including materials related to logistics center operation equipment."
CFS further stated, "Labor union official B has previously been caught attempting to steal company secrets," adding, "We suspect that a large amount of data was stolen through employee A from the same department and delivered to MBC."
CFS also claimed that the leaked materials were manipulated and processed. CFS said, "MBC manipulated and processed some of the materials and published and reported them on the MBC website," adding, "Using the stolen business secrets is also the same criminal offense. CFS has filed a criminal complaint against labor union official B and employee A, who are suspected of illegally stealing and leaking the materials, and plans to hold MBC, which reported based on these materials, strongly accountable."
Meanwhile, regarding allegations raised by some labor groups and lawyers from the Lawyers for a Democratic Society (Minbyun) that Coupang created and managed a so-called 'list' to block reemployment of undesirable individuals, Coupang announced that it filed a complaint with the Songpa Police Station in Seoul against four people, including Minbyun lawyer Kwon Young-guk, for defamation by spreading false information.
This follows a press conference held the previous day by lawyer Kwon and the Coupang Workers' Health and Human Rights Committee (the Committee), where they claimed that Coupang created a so-called 'list' to block reemployment of some workers who quit working at its logistics centers and disclosed a document in Excel file format.
The Committee argued that the list constitutes a violation of constitutional fundamental rights and an act of employment obstruction prohibited by the Labor Standards Act. They also announced plans to request a special labor inspection from the Ministry of Employment and Labor to identify the list's substance and to file a collective lawsuit and claim damages against Coupang on behalf of the blacklist victims.
On the other hand, Coupang acknowledged that it created and managed personnel evaluations of employees but countered that it is a legitimate business activity and therefore not legally problematic.
In a statement released the previous day, Coupang claimed, "Personnel evaluations are intended to protect hundreds of thousands of employees working together and create a safe workplace from some individuals who repeatedly engage in sexual harassment, theft, assault, and violations of company regulations within the workplace." The company also argued that the documents disclosed at the press conference do not match its personnel evaluation materials.
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