"Bom Kim Blatantly Disregards Korean National Assembly"
"Coupang Turns Hearing Into an 'English Listening Test' With Foreign Executives"
"Government Must Declare Highest Level of Regulation Against Coupang"
Lee Junseok, leader of the Reform New Party, stated on the 18th, "Yesterday's Coupang personal information leak hearing held by the National Assembly's Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee was a scene that will remain a deep disgrace in the history of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea." He added, "The attitude of Bom Kim, Chairman of Coupang Inc, was a blatant disregard for the Korean National Assembly."
Lee Junseok, leader of the Reform New Party, is giving a general speech at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 18th. Photo by Yonhap News
At the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly that day, Lee said, "Despite this unprecedented incident in which the personal information of as many as 33.7 million people was leaked, Chairman Kim, who bears substantial responsibility, ultimately did not attend, citing 'official global CEO commitments.' He is explicitly identified in SEC filings as the highest decision-maker for Coupang's Korean operations and is the de facto controlling shareholder, holding 74.3% of Coupang Inc's voting rights."
He continued, "Compared to Jeff Bezos of Amazon or Mark Zuckerberg of Meta, who appeared directly before the U.S. Congress when issues arose, Chairman Kim's attitude can only be seen as a blatant disregard for the Korean National Assembly." He criticized, "Coupang effectively turned the hearing into an 'English listening test' by presenting a newly appointed foreign CEO and CISO, both of whom can barely speak Korean, as witnesses."
At the hearing the previous day, only Harold Rogers, acting CEO of Coupang, and Brett Mathis, Coupang's Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), appeared as witnesses. In response, lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties strongly protested, arguing that Coupang was evading responsibility by fielding only foreign executives who could not communicate in Korean and providing only perfunctory answers.
Lee said, "All questions and answers were conducted through consecutive interpretation, repeatedly disrupting the flow of the hearing, and the core questions were met with irrelevant answers. When I asked why Chairman Kim did not attend, the new CEO simply replied, 'Happy to be here.' There was no sign of any intention to provide a responsible explanation."
He continued, "An even more serious problem is Coupang's double standards. Just one day before the hearing, Coupang reported this incident to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, stating that 'it is not a significant incident.' If the leakage of personal information of 33.7 million people is not significant, then what exactly constitutes a significant incident?"
Lee added, "The National Assembly has already voted to file a complaint for violation of the Act on Testimony and Appraisal before the National Assembly against Chairman Kim and others. Now, the government's role is crucial. The government must define this personal information leak as a serious legal violation and a breach of public trust, and must clearly declare its principle to apply the highest level of regulation and sanctions against Coupang."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
