Coupang Korea Chief Rogers Appears Before U.S. Congress...Silent on Questions

Harold Rogers, interim head of Coupang Korea, which has been at the center of controversy over a massive data leak, appeared at a hearing of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee on the 23rd (local time).

Rogers Harold, interim head of Coupang Korea (center), is entering the U.S. House Judiciary Committee hearing room in Washington, D.C., on the 23rd (local time) to give closed-door testimony. Photo by Yonhap

Rogers attended a closed-door hearing held in the hearing room of the House Judiciary Committee in Washington, D.C., and gave testimony. When reporters there asked him, "Do you have anything to say to Korean consumers?", he did not offer any substantive response.

The hearing was conducted under the auspices of the Subcommittee on Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust of the House Judiciary Committee. Earlier, Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan and Subcommittee member Scott Fitzgerald, who had issued a subpoena, claimed in a letter that "the Korean government is creating discriminatory treatment and unnecessary barriers against American companies."

The Judiciary Committee particularly pointed out that moves by the Korean government to indict Coupang and its American executive as targets run counter to recent trade commitments between South Korea and the United States. It also requested the submission of records such as communications between relevant Korean government agencies and Coupang.

Within the U.S. Congress, there is also an interpretation that this hearing is an extension of lobbying efforts aimed at defending Coupang and pressuring the Korean government.

Meanwhile, Rogers and Coupang are currently under police investigation over multiple allegations and suspicions, including downplaying the massive data leak, destroying evidence, committing perjury before the National Assembly, and covering up industrial accidents.

The Korean government’s position is that this hearing in the U.S. Congress is not an issue that should escalate into a "diplomatic matter" between South Korea and the United States, but rather that the Congress, having been lobbied by Coupang, is handling the situation in a way that puts pressure on the Korean government.