On January 7, 2026, a special counsel questioned a senior prosecutor over allegations of interfering in the probe into e-commerce giant Coupang's unpaid severance pay. This occurs amid broader scrutiny of the company's labor practices, including a task force by the labor ministry and demands for truth from the family of a deceased worker.
Scrutiny over Coupang's labor violations and alleged investigation interference is intensifying. On January 7, Kim Dong-hee, a prosecutor from the Busan High Prosecutors Office, appeared at the special counsel office in Seoul for questioning on charges of abuse of power and leaking official secrets related to the unpaid severance pay probe at Coupang Inc.
The case traces back to May 2023, when Coupang allegedly altered employment rules to the disadvantage of employees and failed to pay their severance. In January last year, the Bucheon branch of the labor ministry referred the case to the prosecution for indictment, but the Incheon District Prosecutors Office's Bucheon branch decided not to indict in April. In October, Moon Ji-seok, the prosecutor in charge at the time, testified during a National Assembly audit that senior prosecutors, including Kim (then deputy head of the Bucheon branch) and Uhm Hee-joon (head of the branch), pressured him to drop the charges. Kim is also suspected of leaking investigation details to Coupang's lawyers, and the special counsel team raided their offices late last month.
Kim told reporters outside the special counsel office, "The allegation of her intervention in the Coupang investigation is a one-sided claim by Moon, and the special counsel will reveal the truth."
Meanwhile, on January 6, the Ministry of Employment and Labor launched a task force to probe suspected violations of labor and industrial accident laws at Coupang. Prompted by a recent data breach affecting 33.7 million users, the team will examine illegal worker dispatch, programs targeting low performers for layoffs, and pressure on the family of an overworked deceased employee to settle without claiming compensation. Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon stated, "Concealing industrial accidents and illegal dispatch of workers are serious crimes that deny workers' basic rights," adding the government will act without tolerance if violations are confirmed.
On the same day, the mother of Jang Deok-jun, a Coupang logistics worker who died of acute myocardial infarction in 2020 after an overnight shift—presumed linked to overwork—appeared as a witness at the police. She said, "Our family cannot contain our rage as to why a young man in his 20s was driven to such an unjust death," demanding the full truth. The National Courier Workers' Union accused the company of downplaying the death and filed a complaint last month against founder Kim Bom-suk for instigating evidence destruction.
