Harold Rogers, interim CEO of Coupang, underwent 12 hours of police questioning over allegations of evidence destruction linked to a massive data breach. Authorities estimate the incident affected nearly 33 million users, disputing Coupang's claim of only 3,000 accounts impacted. Rogers declined to comment upon leaving the agency.
On January 30, 2026, Harold Rogers, interim CEO of Coupang Corp., appeared at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency for questioning on suspicions of evidence destruction related to a massive data breach at the e-commerce giant. The interrogation lasted 12 hours, concluding at 2:22 a.m. on Saturday, January 31. Upon arrival on Friday, Rogers stated, "Coupang has fully and will continue to fully cooperate with all of the government investigations that are looking into us. We will also fully cooperate with the police investigation today."
Police estimate the breach affected nearly 33 million users, far exceeding Coupang's independent announcement of only 3,000 accounts leaked. Authorities are probing the reliability of the company's internal investigation, which the government has criticized as one-sided. Focus has been on a laptop recovered from a former employee in China last month, allegedly used in the hacking. Coupang conducted its own forensic analysis on the device without disclosing it to police, prompting questions about undisclosed contacts with the suspect and evidence handling.
Rogers had defied two prior police summonses and left South Korea on January 1, a day after a two-day parliamentary hearing on the leak, before returning last week. He faces perjury allegations for claiming during the hearing that the internal probe was instructed by the National Intelligence Service (NIS), a assertion denied by the agency. Separately, he is accused of ordering a report to shield the company from liability following a logistics center worker's death in 2020.
Speculation swirls that Rogers may leave the country soon, though police are considering further questioning. The incident has intensified scrutiny on Coupang's data security practices.
