Google Founders' Allies Face Successive Sexual Misconduct Scandals... Senior Vice President Resigns Amid 'Affair' Allegations

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Kim Bong-su] The founders and key figures behind the success of Google, the world's largest internet company, are resigning one after another following the achievement of legendary status amid sexual misconduct scandals.

On the 10th (local time), according to CNBC and The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), David Drummond, Chief Legal Officer (CLO) and Senior Vice President of Alphabet, Google's parent company, sent a letter to colleagues announcing his intention to leave the company on the 31st of this month.

Drummond joined Google as a lawyer in its early days, successfully leading the company's initial public offering (IPO) and serving as CLO, playing a key role in decisions such as the 2010 withdrawal from China, earning him recognition as a 'founding contributor.'

However, last summer, former Google employee Jennifer Blakely revealed that she had an extramarital affair with Drummond, bore his child, but he ignored her and refused to provide child support, sparking allegations of infidelity. Subsequently, Alphabet's board formed an investigative committee in November last year to probe sexual misconduct and wrongdoing involving current and former executives, including Drummond.

Although Drummond did not receive severance pay, he reportedly sold his Google shares, earning substantial profits. He sold shares worth $220 million (approximately 255 billion KRW) last year and also sold $77 million worth of shares this year.

Earlier, Andy Rubin, former Senior Vice President of Google and known as the 'father of the Android smartphone operating system (OS),' resigned amid sexual assault allegations and received a $90 million (approximately 104.2 billion KRW) severance package, which led thousands of Google employees worldwide to go on strike.

In early last month, Google's co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin also stepped down from their positions as Alphabet CEO and President, respectively.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.