Specified in Search and Seizure Warrants for Eom Heejoon and Kim Donghee
The special prosecutor's team led by Ahn Kwonsub reportedly included in the search and seizure warrants for Eom Heejoon, prosecutor at the Gwangju High Prosecutors' Office (former chief of the Bucheon Branch of the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office), and Kim Donghee, prosecutor at the Busan High Prosecutors' Office (former deputy chief prosecutor at the Bucheon Branch), a statement alleging that they pressured the responsible prosecutor to dismiss the Coupang severance pay non-payment case, thereby obstructing the exercise of investigative authority.
According to the legal community on December 25, the special prosecutor's team included these details in the warrants when they searched Prosecutor Eom's office at the Gwangju High Prosecutors' Office and Prosecutor Kim's office at the Busan High Prosecutors' Office the previous day.
The special prosecutor's team designated Prosecutors Eom and Kim as suspects on charges of abuse of authority, stating in the search and seizure warrants that they pressured Shin Gahyun, the lead prosecutor at the Bucheon Branch, to dismiss the Coupang severance pay case, thereby forcing her to perform duties outside her obligations.
Additionally, the warrants stated that they pressured Chief Prosecutor Moon Jiseok to approve the dismissal, thereby obstructing Chief Prosecutor Moon's right to conduct the investigation.
Prosecutor Kim is also facing charges of leaking official secrets. He is accused of providing advance information about the investigation, including details about search and seizure operations, to attorney Kwon Sunyoung, who was representing Coupang, based on their personal relationship. Attorney Kwon's residence was also included in the search and seizure targets.
Chief Prosecutor Moon, who exposed the alleged cover-up of the Coupang investigation, claimed that both he and the lead prosecutor asserted that Coupang's revision of its employment rules was illegal. However, Prosecutor Kim allegedly tried to persuade them by saying it was "clearly a case with no charges," and Prosecutor Eom, after being newly appointed as the lead prosecutor in February this year, allegedly summoned the new lead prosecutor separately to provide a guideline for a dismissal. Moon also raised suspicions that key evidence, such as documents related to "improvements to the daily worker system," was deliberately omitted from the report sent by the Bucheon Branch to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, and that confidential information, including details about the search and seizure, was leaked to Coupang.
Prosecutor Eom's side has denied all allegations raised by Chief Prosecutor Moon, filing a complaint with the special prosecutor accusing Moon of false accusation.
The Coupang severance pay non-payment case concerns allegations that Coupang changed its employment rules in May 2023 to the disadvantage of workers, thereby withholding payments with the nature of severance pay. At the time, Coupang revised the rules for paying severance to daily workers so that if there was even a single day during the employment period when the weekly working hours were 15 hours or less, the calculation period for severance pay would be reset from that day. This is known as the "severance pay reset rule."
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