Kurly CEO's Husband Indicted for Sexual Harassment of Probationary Employee: "Deep Apology"

Next Kitchen, whose CEO is the husband of Kim Seula, CEO of the domestic e-commerce company Kurly, has issued a statement of "deep apology" after its CEO was indicted on charges of sexually harassing a probationary employee.

On January 21, Next Kitchen released an official statement, saying, "We deeply apologize for causing concern to many people due to the unfortunate incident involving our CEO. We would also like to sincerely apologize once again to the employee who was harmed."

The company added, "Upon reading the reports, we once again feel and reflect on the pain the victim experienced at the time. We will implement comprehensive and definitive measures to prevent recurrence."

Next Kitchen stated, "First, we will conduct a thorough review through an independent external professional organization to determine whether the company's actions, including protection of the victim, were appropriate in this matter. Until the review is complete, the CEO will be suspended and excluded from all company work to ensure that he cannot exert any influence."

According to its 2024 business report, Next Kitchen is an affiliate in which Kurly holds a 46.4% stake. The company supplies home meal replacement (HMR) products to Kurly. The CEO of Next Kitchen was indicted without detention last June on charges of forcibly molesting probationary employee A at a restaurant in Seongdong-gu, Seoul.