Intense Legal Battles Expected Over Truthfulness
Concerns Raised About Possible Expansion in Political Circles
Coupang's recent suspicion of having created a so-called 'blacklist,' a prohibited employment list within the company, has escalated into a 'truth game.' When some labor groups raised allegations that Coupang Fulfillment Service (CFS), Coupang's logistics subsidiary, created and managed a 'prohibited employment list' to block reemployment of certain individuals, Coupang responded by denying the claims as "fabricated" and initiated legal action.
The key issue is the authenticity of the disclosed blacklist, and since the Ministry of Employment and Labor plans to launch an investigation, attention is focused on the outcome.Lawyers from Minbyun and Labor Union: "Coupang Illegally Created a Blacklist"
This controversy began on the 14th when lawyer Kwon Young-guk from the Lawyers for a Democratic Society (Minbyun) and the Committee for the Health and Human Rights of Coupang Workers (the Committee) held a press conference, revealing an Excel file document alleging that Coupang created a 'blacklist' to block reemployment of some workers who had quit working at its logistics centers.
The document contains personal information such as names, workplaces, and dates of birth of those restricted from employment, along with resignation dates, reasons, and union titles. The reasons for reemployment restrictions include verbal abuse, insults, profanity, theft, assault incidents, stalking, refusal to comply with legitimate work orders, as well as reasons for resignation such as studies, job changes, childcare and family care, and work-life balance. The document was created and registered from September 2017 to October of last year.
The Committee claims, "Coupang appears to have managed this document to exclude those on the list from reemployment opportunities for a certain period or permanently," arguing that this constitutes a violation of fundamental rights and the Labor Standards Act under current law.
The document also includes personal information of journalists to prevent undercover reporting by Coupang, and the names of active members of the National Assembly and their aides who have demanded improvements in Coupang's labor conditions, further intensifying the controversy.
Coupang: "Managing Employment Lists is Legitimate Business Activity... Some Parts Fabricated or Edited"
Coupang immediately refuted the allegations. While acknowledging that it created and managed personnel evaluations of employees, it insists that this is a legitimate business activity with no legal issues. Coupang also claims that the disclosed list was illegally leaked and that some parts were fabricated or edited.
In a statement, Coupang said, "The CFS personnel evaluation data does not contain expressions like 'Daegu Center,' yet lawyer Kwon and others falsely claimed that CFS created a blacklist using secret codes such as 'Daegu Center.' They even arbitrarily added a 'union title' column, which does not exist in the CFS personnel evaluation data, and showed fabricated materials to reporters, falsely alleging that CFS obstructed employment due to union activities."
It further explained, "Personnel evaluations are intended to protect hundreds of thousands of employees working together and to create a safe workplace by addressing individuals who repeatedly engage in sexual harassment, theft, assault, and repeated violations of company regulations within the workplace."
Moreover, Coupang stated, "We confirmed circumstances where employee A conspired with Minnochoong union official B, who worked in the same department, to leak dozens of company technical and trade secret documents, including logistics center operation equipment materials. Official B has previously been caught attempting to steal company secrets."
Regarding the inclusion of Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Tan-hee's name in the document, Coupang explained, "The lawmaker applied for a 9-hour daily labor job at the logistics center on July 6, 2022, worked about 4 hours, and then left without permission. This was recorded as 'unauthorized absence from the workplace' according to the same personnel evaluation standards applied to everyone."
Coupang has filed criminal complaints against lawyer Kwon, who disclosed the document, and Minnochoong official B and employee A, who are suspected of illegally stealing and leaking the materials.
Kwon Young-guk, representative of the Coupang Countermeasure Committee, is speaking at a press conference on legal measures related to the 'Coupang Blacklist Allegations' held at the Lawyers for a Democratic Society in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 14th. Photo by Yonhap News
Key Issue: 'Blacklist'... Legal Aspects
The legal issues in this case are mainly twofold. First, whether creating a list to restrict employment by a company violates the law. Lawyer Kwon and the Committee argue that the mere creation of the list by Coupang infringes on fundamental rights and violates the Labor Standards Act. On the other hand, Coupang claims it is a "legitimate business activity."
Legal experts generally believe that creating such a list itself may not be a significant problem. Article 40 of the Labor Standards Act prohibits creating secret codes or lists with the purpose of obstructing a worker's employment. Violations can result in imprisonment of up to five years or fines up to 50 million won.
However, since Coupang's case does not involve preventing employment at other companies but is an internal measure regarding workers who caused problems at its own workplaces, it is possible that this provision was not violated. Seo Hae-jin, head lawyer at The Lighthouse Law Office, explained, "Article 40 of the Labor Standards Act prohibits providing lists to other companies to obstruct employment, but it does not prohibit internally creating lists for reference in hiring. Fundamentally, hiring is an area where employers have broad discretion."
This is also confirmed by previous cases. In January 2022, the Seoul Eastern District Office of the Ministry of Employment and Labor recognized charges related to employee list creation and referred Market Kurly to the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office for prosecution. However, the prosecution dismissed all charges in January last year. Similarly, the Courier Union filed a complaint against CJ Logistics in 2018 on a similar issue, but it was also dismissed.
Kim Seul-ah, CEO of Market Kurly, said at a press conference regarding the incident, "Telling us not to create lists is like telling us not to manage safety, hygiene, quality, and quarantine at logistics centers." She emphasized that restricting reemployment of problematic employees is a normal personnel system, not a 'list' that unfairly disadvantages ordinary people, a point acknowledged by the prosecution.
However, the authenticity of the blacklist may also be a legal issue. Coupang has consistently argued that the cause of this incident lies in "leakage and fabrication/editing of company secrets." But if the document was not fabricated or edited, the inclusion of external individuals such as journalists who did not submit employment documents to Coupang could violate the Personal Information Protection Act.
Ministry of Employment Launches Fact-Finding Investigation... "Concerns Over Political Controversy Ahead of General Election"
The Ministry of Employment and Labor's fact-finding investigation into this incident has drawn attention to whether the allegations will be clarified. A fact-finding investigation is a process to ascertain all relevant facts related to media allegations and is different from a criminal investigation into legal violations; it is part of the Ministry's routine duties.
There is also a possibility that the fact-finding investigation could escalate into a special labor inspection. The Committee has requested such a special inspection. The Ministry has often conducted special inspections on socially significant issues. A special inspection is the highest level of investigation by the Ministry, and if problems are found, the case is typically referred immediately to the prosecution.
With the National Assembly general election approaching, there remains a possibility that this issue will become a political point of contention. Choi Jun-seon, emeritus professor at Sungkyunkwan University Law School, said, "Coupang's measures appear to be a normal corporate personnel system implemented to protect employees," and added, "The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions raising their voices ahead of the general election raises suspicions of political motives."
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