It has been confirmed that the Ministry of Employment and Labor is conducting a planned inspection against Coupang in relation to the death of the late Jeong Seul-gi, who died while working on Coupang's late-night Rocket Delivery service.
On the 10th, Kim Min-seok, Deputy Minister of Labor, stated during the National Assembly Environment and Labor Committee's audit in response to a question from Park Jeong of the Democratic Party regarding Coupang's supervision, "Regarding the case of Jeong Seul-gi's (death), which was previously an issue, the local labor office has been conducting a planned inspection for one month starting from the 8th."
On the morning of the 0th, Kim Moon-soo, Minister of Employment and Labor, is responding to a lawmaker's question during the National Assembly inspection of the Ministry of Employment and Labor held by the Environment and Labor Committee at Yeouido, Seoul. [Photo by Yonhap News]
Previously, Jeong, who had been working as a Coupang Quickflex courier on late-night Rocket Delivery since March last year, collapsed at her home in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province on May 28 and was transported to a hospital but passed away. The cause of death was ventricular fibrillation and suspected myocardial infarction, cardiovascular diseases. The Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service approved the industrial accident survivor benefits applied for by Jeong's family.
Additionally, during the audit, Hong Yong-jun, CEO of Coupang CLS, and Jeong Jong-cheol, CEO of Coupang Fulfillment Service, who appeared as witnesses, faced criticism regarding Coupang's labor oppression and suspicions of industrial accident cover-ups.
Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Ju-young raised suspicions of 'Coupang favoritism,' stating that although the Ministry of Labor issued a corrective order in March this year for Coupang to pay severance pay to daily workers, the company did not comply, and the ministry took no action.
Regarding this, Deputy Minister Kim said about the review of changes to employment rules, "I do not know the exact details," and explained, "Regarding the non-correction, the prosecution is currently directing the investigation, and it is not that the procedure is being delayed intentionally to overlook the issue."
On the suspicion that Coupang created a blacklist for employment restrictions, he stated, "There are about 16,400 people involved, including some sick witnesses, so the investigation is delayed, but we are cooperating with the prosecution to extend the investigation period."
When asked whether there would be discussions on institutional improvements related to various issues at Coupang, Deputy Minister Kim said, "We will review the results of the planned inspection on worker status and overall industrial safety and discuss with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport."
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