▲ This photo shows the headquarters of Coupang Corp. in Seoul on Jan. 29, 2026. (Yonhap)

Coupang probe-special counsel

Former, current CEOs of Coupang affiliate indicted over alleged unpaid severance pay

SEOUL, Feb. 3 (Yonhap) -- A special counsel team has indicted the former and incumbent executives of a Coupang Corp. affiliate over allegations of unpaid severance pay for company employees, officials said Tuesday.

Chung Jong-chul, chief executive officer (CEO) of Coupang Fulfillment Services (CFS), a logistics subsidiary of Coupang, and his predecessor, Eom Seong-hwan, were indicted on charges of violating the employee retirement benefit security act, according to the team led by special counsel Ann Gweon-seob.

They are suspected of changing the company's employment rules in May 2023 to the disadvantage of its employees who have worked for more than one year to avoid paying their severance pay.

The team said they found the company had unilaterally changed and executed its internal guidelines for severance pay a month before the official employment rules were altered.

Coupang, the leading e-commerce service provider in South Korea, has faced strong public scrutiny and consumer backlash following revelations in November that the personal information of nearly 33 million users had been leaked.

The U.S.-listed company founded by Korean American entrepreneur Kim Bom-suk, also known as Bom Kim, generates about 90 percent of its revenue in South Korea.

(END)

[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]