A special counsel team raided South Korea's labor ministry on Tuesday to investigate allegations of unpaid severance pay to Coupang employees. The search targeted the ministry's headquarters in Sejong and the Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Office. The probe focuses on suspected changes to employment rules by Coupang's logistics subsidiary.
On Tuesday morning, special counsel Ann Gweon-seob's team conducted a search and seizure at the Ministry of Employment and Labor's headquarters in Sejong, central South Korea. The operation forms part of a compulsory investigation into claims that Coupang failed to pay severance to its employees. Prosecutors and investigators arrived to collect data on the ministry's policy guidelines regarding the Coupang severance dispute.
Mobile phones belonging to several ministry officials responsible for labor and retirement pay policies were confiscated. The warrant also covered the Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Office. The special counsel's office had recently summoned some labor ministry officials for questioning on their handling of the Coupang case.
Coupang Fulfillment Services, the e-commerce giant's logistics arm, faces suspicion of altering its employment rules in May 2023 in ways that disadvantaged workers with over one year of service, leading to non-payment of severance. A special counsel official stated, "The raid on the labor ministry was conducted to confirm various suspicions related to Coupang," but declined to provide further details.
The probe highlights potential lapses in the ministry's oversight, with ongoing investigations expected to reveal more about the dispute's origins and implications.
