Coupang's Rogers, Accused of Perjury Before National Assembly, Appears for Second Police Questioning... "Will Fully Cooperate with Investigation"

Intensive questioning over alleged false testimony about "NIS orders"

Harold Rogers, interim head of Coupang Korea, who has been accused of giving false testimony at a National Assembly hearing, has appeared before the police again.

On the 6th, Harold Rogers, interim head of Coupang Korea, is appearing at the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Mapo-gu, Seoul to be questioned over allegations that he gave false testimony at the National Assembly's "Joint Hearing on the Coupang Incident" (perjury under the Act on the Examination of Testimony before the National Assembly). Yonhap

The Anti-Corruption Investigation Division of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency summoned Rogers as a suspect at 2:00 p.m. on the 6th and is conducting a second round of questioning.

Rogers appeared at the Mapo office of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Mapo-gu, Seoul at around 1:28 p.m. that day. He said, "Coupang will continue to fully cooperate with all government investigations," and added, "I will faithfully and thoroughly cooperate with today's police investigation as well." He headed straight to the interrogation room without answering questions such as whether he acknowledges the perjury allegations, whether there has been any change in his position that the National Intelligence Service did not order an investigation, the allegations of lobbying the U.S. House of Representatives, and whether he plans to return to his home country after the investigation.

Rogers is suspected of giving false testimony (violation of the Act on the Examination of Testimony, Appraisal, etc. before the National Assembly) when he appeared as a witness at the National Assembly's "Joint Hearing on the Coupang Incident" held in December last year.

At the time, in response to a question about how he contacted the suspect in Coupang's personal information leak incident and retrieved the suspect's laptop, he replied to the effect that it was "in accordance with the instructions of the National Intelligence Service." However, controversy over perjury arose after the National Intelligence Service officially denied this, stating that it "never issued such instructions."

Rogers had previously failed to comply with two police summonses and then underwent his first round of questioning on January 30. In an email sent to executives and employees the previous day, he said, "During the first investigation, I faithfully complied for 12 hours," and conveyed his position that "I will actively cooperate with this second investigation as well so that the truth can be brought to light."

Based on the previous round of questioning, the police plan to closely probe the circumstances surrounding Rogers' statements and whether there was intent to commit perjury.