Coupang "Some Interview Parts False... Managing List to Protect Employees"
Public Transport Union "Coupang Violates Labor Rights with Blacklist"
Coupang to File Injunction to Shut Down News Website
Coupang has sparked controversy by releasing videos showing actual criminal incidents such as assault, theft, and sexual harassment that occurred within its workplace, in connection with allegations that its subsidiary Coupang Fulfillment Service (CFS) managed a so-called 'blacklist' of employees restricted from employment. While Coupang claims these measures are intended to protect employees from such crimes amid the blacklist suspicions, labor groups are protesting, calling it an attempt to divert attention from the blacklist issue. As conflicts between Coupang and labor groups escalate into expos?s and lawsuits, attention is focused on whether these videos will play a key role in court battles.
On the 20th, the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage released by CFS showed a masked man approaching a colleague who was working and repeatedly striking him with a weapon, while nearby workers intervened to stop the attack.
CFS also released footage claimed to be related to the so-called 'blacklist' cases, including scenes of arson where toilet paper in a logistics center restroom was set on fire, attempts of inappropriate physical contact toward a female employee, and photos of theft where smartphones stored in the logistics center were hidden in pants. In fact, last October, the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office indicted three individuals for embezzling over 1 billion KRW worth of about 1,000 smartphones from a Coupang logistics center. CFS stated, “We operate a personnel evaluation system to protect employees from various illegal acts such as arson, assault, sexual harassment, and theft within the workplace,” and added, “We request that the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and MBC immediately stop broadcasts that undermine CFS’s safety measures designed to protect innocent employees.”
Earlier, MBC created a separate website titled ‘Testimonies of Victims of the Coupang Blacklist’ featuring interviews with those claiming to be victims. These included claims from person A, who said they were blacklisted for being a union branch leader; person B, who said they were blacklisted despite never being disciplined; and person C, who claimed they were not hired because they went to the restroom during work.
However, CFS rebutted that some of these interviews were based on false claims. Coupang stated that person A kicked a cart, causing a colleague to suffer a concussion; person B was absent without leave for 27 out of 37 working days and was dismissed by a personnel committee; and person C was actually rejected for employment after being caught taking unauthorized breaks and sleeping in the break room during working hours, according to CFS.
Cases confirmed based on interviews and actual reasons for personnel evaluations. [Image provided by Coupang]
In response, labor groups pointed out that the very fact that Coupang secretly created and managed such a list without workers’ knowledge is problematic. Kim Hye-jin, executive director of the Coupang Workers’ Committee for Healthy Labor and Human Rights, said, “Coupang selectively highlights a few extreme cases among the approximately 16,000 people on the blacklist, making it seem as if all those on the list have work-related issues,” adding, “The critical issue is that the blacklist was operated without formal disciplinary procedures and without the individuals’ knowledge.”
Labor groups also filed a complaint with the police regarding Coupang’s blacklist allegations. The Public Transport Workers’ Union National Logistics Center Branch held a press conference in front of the Seoul Employment and Labor Office in Jung-gu, Seoul, the previous day, announcing that they had reported six Coupang-related individuals, including Coupang and its logistics subsidiary CFS and CEOs Kang Han-seung and Park Dae-jun, to the police for violations of the Labor Standards Act and the Personal Information Protection Act.
The union simultaneously requested a special labor inspection of Coupang by the Ministry of Employment and Labor. They stated, “Logistics center workers at Coupang face precarious conditions including easy dismissal and blacklisting, threatening their right to livelihood and resulting in loss of human rights and health rights.”
The union plans to gather blacklist victims to prepare a class-action lawsuit. The union claimed, “Coupang unlawfully collected personal information to create a blacklist, violating constitutional order by infringing on freedom of occupation, labor rights, and the three fundamental labor rights,” and added, “Considering the duration the blacklist was maintained and the number of victims listed, the severity and seriousness are very high.”
Previously, Coupang also took legal action against the union and the initial reporting media. On the 14th, the ‘Committee for Healthy Labor and Human Rights of Coupang Workers’ held a press conference revealing documents claiming that CFS created and managed a blacklist to block the employment of 16,450 logistics center workers. In response, Coupang filed complaints with the police against three committee members, including lawyer Kwon Young-guk, the committee’s representative, for defamation and spreading false information. Coupang also filed complaints against CFS employees and Korean Confederation of Trade Unions officials for leaking trade secrets and announced plans to take legal action against the media outlet, including filing a complaint with the Korea Communications Standards Commission.
Meanwhile, CFS plans to file an injunction to request the closure of the website created by the media outlet. The site allows users to check the number of people listed on the blacklist and interviews with those listed. Immediately after the report, the site even provided a function to search the actual blacklist, but it is currently unavailable due to improvements in the search service.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
