Former Coupang CEO Sent to Prosecutors Over Alleged Lies at Hearings on Overwork Death and Data Leak

Former Coupang CEO Park Dae-joon has been sent to prosecutors over allegations that he lied during a National Assembly hearing on the company’s data leak and worker deaths from overwork.

Seoul Metropolitan Police’s anti-corruption investigation unit referred Park and Coupang Vice President Cho Yong-woo to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office on Sept. 1 on charges including perjury under the National Assembly Testimony and Appraisal Act. Coupang auditor Yoon Hye-young was referred on Aug. 31 under the same allegations.

Police questioned Park twice, in February and June, after he appeared as a witness at a Dec. 30 parliamentary hearing. He allegedly gave testimony that differed from the facts concerning Coupang’s personal-information leak and the deaths of workers from overwork.

After the hearing, the National Assembly’s Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee voted to report seven current and former executives to police for suspected violations of the testimony law. The allegations included perjury against Park, Cho, Yoon and Rogers, while other executives, including Chairman Kim Beom-seok, faced allegations linked to nonattendance. Police reportedly decided not to refer four people, including Rogers and Kim, for prosecution.

Park was also questioned as a reference witness in January over a lunch with independent lawmaker Kim Byung-kee, formerly of the Democratic Party. The meal took place before a parliamentary audit last September, amid allegations that Kim had sought unfavorable personnel treatment for a former aide who had taken a job at Coupang.