National Assembly Pushes for Beomseok Kim’s Responsibility as De Facto Leader... Criminal Charges Under Review
Beomseok Kim Led Coupang’s Growth in Korea but Avoids Accountability
Conglomerate Leaders Like Beomsoo Kim and Haejin Lee Publicly Apologi
Six days have passed since the massive leak of Coupang customer information was revealed, yet Beomseok Kim, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Coupang Inc., who is the de facto controller of the company, remains silent. Despite mounting calls for accountability from lawmakers in the National Assembly, he has not issued any official statement. The political sphere and public opinion are intensifying their criticism over the fact that the top decision-maker of a mega-platform company, which generates annual sales of 40 trillion won in South Korea alone, has not made a public appearance in the face of this unprecedented personal information leak.
'Calls for Prosecution' in the National Assembly, but Coupang Distances Beomseok Kim from Responsibility
According to industry sources on December 4, the issue of Beomseok Kim's accountability was raised directly during the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee hearing held the previous day. Jang Sik Shin, a lawmaker from the Rebuilding Korea Party, stated, "Ninety percent of Coupang's sales come from Korea, but he is avoiding the National Assembly's summons on the grounds of his American nationality and the company's listing in the United States," and mentioned the need for prosecution. Minguk Kang, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, also strongly criticized, "He is making money in Korea but hiding behind the American company to evade responsibility for the personal information leak," and referred to Beomseok Kim as a "foreigner with black hair."
Han Hong Yoon, Chairperson of the Political Affairs Committee, said, "All committee members agree on prosecuting Chairman Beomseok Kim, and we have decided to proceed before the end of the year." Effectively, the National Assembly has defined him as the ultimate person responsible for this incident.
In contrast, Coupang has distanced itself from the calls for Kim's accountability. During a National Assembly Science, ICT, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee hearing on December 2, Daejun Park, CEO of Coupang Korea, responded, "Since this happened at the Korean subsidiary, the responsibility lies with me." At the Political Affairs Committee as well, Coupang maintained its position that "the head of the Korean subsidiary, not the CEO of the U.S. headquarters, should be held responsible."
Coupang: A Company That Started and Makes Money in Korea
Beomseok Kim has led every stage of Coupang's growth, from its inception in Korea to its current status as a mega-platform. In 2010, while studying at Harvard Business School (MBA), he entered the Korean market and founded the social commerce company Coupang with 3 billion won in capital. He then transformed the company into an e-commerce platform centered on Rocket Delivery, reshaping the competitive landscape of Korea's retail market.
Today, Coupang has become one of the largest e-commerce companies in Korea, with annual sales exceeding 40 trillion won. Over this period, Coupang has experienced various incidents, including the deaths of logistics center workers and the fire at the Deokpyeong logistics center, yet Beomseok Kim rarely appeared in public. In 2021, he stepped down as Chairman of the Board of the Korean subsidiary, distancing himself from positions that could incur direct legal responsibility in Korea. He was also excluded from being designated as the head of a large business group by the Fair Trade Commission due to his American citizenship, and when incidents became social issues, he mostly remained the "founder directing from behind the scenes."
However, his actual management authority is overwhelming. Although Beomseok Kim owns only about 8% of Coupang Inc.'s shares, he holds Class B shares with 29 times the voting rights per share, allowing him to exercise 74.3% of the total voting rights. According to Coupang Inc.'s quarterly report submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), "We operate our business primarily in the Korean retail market and other overseas markets, and our chief operating decision maker is our CEO," making it possible to interpret that Beomseok Kim is responsible for the Korean business.
A massive personal information leak involving over 30 million cases has occurred at Coupang. This scale exceeds the economically active population of 29.69 million, making it the worst leak incident in history. On December 1, following an apology text message from Coupang regarding the personal information leak incident, a Coupang signboard installed at Coupang headquarters is visible. 2025.12.01 Photo by Dongju Yoon
Naver and Kakao: Leaders Bow Their Heads in Times of Crisis
The silence of Beomseok Kim is further highlighted when compared to the response of leaders at other major Korean conglomerates. When major incidents have occurred, the heads of Korea's leading groups have personally issued public apologies. In April of this year, when SK Telecom suffered a massive personal information leak, Chey Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group, publicly apologized to the nation just 19 days after the incident, addressing customer dissatisfaction over the inadequate response.
In 2022, when a fire at the SK C&C Pangyo data center caused service disruptions at Kakao and Naver, Brian Kim, Founder and Head of Future Initiative Center at Kakao, and Haejin Lee, Founder and Chairman of the Board at Naver, both appeared before the National Assembly's Science, ICT, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee to apologize. In 2020, Jay Y. Lee, Chairman of Samsung Electronics, apologized to the public amid controversy over succession issues, and in the same year, Kwangmo Koo, Chairman of LG Group, personally issued an apology following a fire at LG Chem's Daesan plant.
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