Democratic Party Science Committee to File Complaint Against Coupang Chairman Kim Beomseok for Hearing Absence... Parliamentary Investigation Also Planned

A Total of Three, Including Park Daejoon and Kang Hanseung
"Reasons for Non-Attendance Are Unacceptable to the Public"

On December 15, lawmakers from the Democratic Party of Korea, who are members of the National Assembly’s Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee, announced their decision to file criminal complaints against three individuals, including Kim Beomseok, founder and Chairman of the Board of Coupang Inc., for violating the National Assembly Testimony and Appraisal Act after they declared their intention not to attend a parliamentary hearing. They also stated their intention to pursue a parliamentary investigation into the Coupang personal information leak incident.

On the 9th, at the plenary meeting of the Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee held at the National Assembly, Chairperson Minhee Choi is striking the gavel. 2025.12.9 Photo by Hyunmin Kim

In a statement released that day, the lawmakers said that Chairman Kim, as well as former Coupang CEOs Park Daejoon and Kang Hanseung, had submitted written explanations for their non-attendance at the hearing regarding the personal information leak. The lawmakers declared, "We will review and pursue legal action, including filing criminal complaints."

They continued, "We also discussed the necessity of a parliamentary investigation," and emphasized, "Through the hearing and any subsequent parliamentary investigation, we will comprehensively uncover Coupang’s security management system, the structural causes of repeated incidents, and whether there has been any evasion of responsibility." It is understood that one reason for pursuing a parliamentary investigation is that, unlike a hearing, it allows the issuance of a compulsory attendance order to witnesses.

The lawmakers warned, "In the face of a massive incident involving the leak of personal information of 33.7 million people, Coupang’s de facto responsible parties refusing the National Assembly’s request to appear as witnesses is a clear violation of the National Assembly Testimony and Appraisal Act," adding, "The National Assembly will not tolerate anyone who disregards the law." Regarding the reasons for non-attendance provided by Chairman Kim and others, they criticized, "These are not reasons that the public or the National Assembly can accept, and can only be seen as an organized attempt by the company to evade responsibility."

Previously, Chairman Kim stated in his written explanation for non-attendance, "As the CEO of a global company operating in over 170 countries, I have unavoidable official business commitments, and therefore cannot attend the hearing."