Joint Parliamentary Hearing Held on 30th and 31st
Chairman Kim's Absence Criticized by Lawmakers
Comprehensive Government Investigation Announced
Focus on Worker Protection and Unfair Trade Practices
Effectiveness of Personal Data Brea
The Coupang crisis, which began with the leak of personal information belonging to 33.7 million customers, is rapidly expanding to encompass a wide range of issues, including industrial accidents, tax evasion, and unfair trade practices. Criticism has emerged that the apology statement from Coupang founder Kim Beomseok and the compensation plan worth 1.6 trillion won, both announced just one month after the data breach, are mere attempts to evade responsibility. Meanwhile, the ruling party and the government are intensifying pressure on Chairman Kim, even hinting at business suspension and legal action.
At the Coupang hearing held on the 30th, led by the Democratic Party of Korea, six standing committees participated: the Science, ICT, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee; the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee; the Climate, Energy, Environment, and Labor Committee; the Strategy and Finance Committee; the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee; and the Political Affairs Committee. The National Assembly designated 17 current and former Coupang executives as witnesses, but key witnesses-including Chairman Kim Beomseok, his brother Kim Yuseok (Vice President of Coupang), and former CEO Kang Hanseung-submitted statements of non-attendance.
On the 30th, Harold Rogers, CEO of Coupang, took an oath at a hearing held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, to understand the Coupang breach incident, personal information leakage, unfair trade, labor environment conditions, and to prepare measures to prevent recurrence. Photo by Yonhap News Agency
Ahn Hoyoung, a Democratic Party lawmaker and chairman of the Climate, Energy, Environment, and Labor Committee, said, "It is utterly unacceptable that Chairman Kim, the ultimate decision-maker and de facto controller of Coupang, is absent. All possible legal measures should be taken, including additional requests for attendance and criminal complaints." Assemblywoman Kim Hyunjung of the Democratic Party also stated, "Chairman Kim and other key witnesses of this hearing have notified their absence without just cause, and the National Assembly has already agreed to file criminal complaints. We must proceed with a parliamentary investigation and consider compulsory measures such as a subpoena."
This joint hearing, which will continue through the 31st, is expected to focus on allegations that Coupang has underreported industrial accidents. Notably, a "Guide for Payment of Medical Expenses for Accident Victims" released by Assemblyman Ahn's office on this day revealed that Coupang encouraged so-called "private settlements" to avoid leaving records of industrial accidents. The document included an internal guideline that "hospital medical expenses should be processed as general cases," which, unlike industrial accident claims, does not leave a record of work-related incidents in medical records when the individual pays the hospital bills themselves.
Coupang also answered in the Q&A section of the document, "What should I do with receipts that are not processed as general cases?" by stating, "You should instruct them to change it to a general case." Assemblyman Ahn's office explained that if general processing is encouraged instead of industrial accident processing, even for obvious work-related accidents, this could constitute a violation of Article 57 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (prohibition of concealing industrial accidents and mandatory reporting).
According to data submitted to Assemblyman Ahn by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, there have been a total of 10 cases of violations of Article 57 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act detected at Coupang over the past five years. These were uncovered through labor ministry inspections, and the office added that the actual number of violations is likely much higher.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency is also directly investigating allegations that Coupang concealed industrial accidents in connection with the 2020 death of the late Jang Deokjun at the Chilgok Coupang logistics center in Daegu. Previously, on the 23rd, the parcel delivery workers' union and others filed criminal complaints against Chairman Kim for instructing the destruction of evidence and violating the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The complaints allege that Chairman Kim ordered that "no records be left showing the deceased worked hard" and to "inflate break times," thereby minimizing and concealing the incident and destroying evidence.
The government has also formed a "Coupang Crisis Pan-Government Task Force (TF)" led by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Bae Kyunghoon, to investigate the causes of the data breach, protect users, and address labor and logistics issues. The Ministry of Science and ICT will focus on identifying the cause of the incident and Coupang's security vulnerabilities; the Personal Information Protection Commission will examine the scale and scope of the data leak and possible violations of the Personal Information Protection Act; the Financial Services Commission will investigate the possibility of fraudulent payments and high-interest loan practices; and the National Police Agency will focus on analyzing seized materials and apprehending suspects through international cooperation. In addition, the Fair Trade Commission will consider whether to suspend Coupang's business, taking into account the possibility of information misuse, concerns about consumer financial losses, and Coupang's efforts to remedy the damage.
On the 30th, witnesses including former Coupang CEO Daejun Park (right) and other participants were waiting for the start of the hearing titled "Hearing on Coupang's Breach Incident, Personal Information Leakage, Unfair Trade, Labor Environment Status, and Measures to Prevent Recurrence" held at the National Assembly. Photo by Jinhyung Kang
In addition, the Fair Trade Commission and the Broadcasting and Communications Commission are investigating whether Coupang's complicated withdrawal procedures constitute prohibited acts under the Electronic Commerce Act and the Telecommunications Business Act. The Ministry of Employment and Labor will examine Coupang's measures to protect night workers and health rights, while the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to promptly prepare an agreement with the National Assembly's Euljiro Committee to protect Coupang workers.
At the hearing, Coupang's compensation plan-announced the previous day-to provide all members affected by the data breach with a 50,000 won shopping voucher (discount coupon), totaling 1.685 trillion won, was harshly criticized as "deceiving the public." Civic organizations also voiced negative evaluations. The People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy stated, "This is not a discount, but marketing expenditure, and even this is ultimately designed to avoid losses by boosting sales." The Korea Consumer Organizations Council said, "This is a serious incident in which 33.7 million people's personal information was structurally accessible, and Coupang is downplaying its responsibility and turning it into a public relations event. Such measures are an insult to consumers, and we reject them."
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