Rogers, Coupang’s Second-in-Command, Appointed as New CEO... To Attend Hearing on the 17th (Comprehensive Update 2)

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As Park Daejun, CEO of Coupang, has abruptly resigned, taking responsibility for a personal information leak affecting as many as 33.7 million people, Harold Rogers, Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and General Counsel of Coupang Inc., has been appointed as the interim CEO to manage the current crisis. Interim CEO Rogers is scheduled to appear at a hearing held by the National Assembly’s Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee on December 17.

Harold Rogers, newly appointed CEO of Coupang Inc. Photo by Coupang

Upon resigning from his position as CEO of Coupang on December 10, Park stated, "I am deeply sorry for disappointing the public with this personal information incident," and added, "I feel a strong sense of responsibility for both the occurrence of the incident and the response process, so I have decided to step down from all my positions."

Rogers, the newly appointed CEO, is known as a close confidant of Kim Bomseok, Chairman and founder of Coupang Inc. A Harvard Law School graduate and an expert in compliance and risk management, he played a key role in 2021 in ensuring Coupang’s compliance with the stringent disclosure and regulatory requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) during its listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

This marks the first time since its founding that Coupang has appointed an executive from its U.S. headquarters as the CEO of its Korean subsidiary. By placing Rogers, effectively the company’s “second-in-command,” at the forefront in place of Chairman Kim, it is interpreted that the U.S. headquarters is taking the situation very seriously and has decided to intervene directly to resolve the crisis.

On this day, CEO Rogers delivered a message to employees via an internal announcement, stating, "I am well aware that many people feel uneasy about this situation," and emphasized, "Our top priorities now are to respond thoroughly to this incident, strengthen information security to prevent recurrence, and restore trust." He added, "We will also focus on supporting all teams as we work to stabilize the organization and move forward."

Previously, the committee resolved on December 9 to hold the hearing, summoning Chairman Kim, former CEO Park, former CEO Kang Hansung, Chief Information Security Officer Brett Mathis, Executive Vice President for External Affairs Min Byungki, and Vice President for National Assembly and Government Affairs Cho Yongwoo as witnesses. While Chairman Kim’s attendance remains uncertain, the new CEO Rogers is expected to participate in the hearing. A Coupang representative stated, "As we have committed to actively addressing customer concerns and managing the crisis, new CEO Rogers is scheduled to attend the hearing."