Allegations of Coupang Violating the 52-Hour Workweek Raised at the National Assembly Audit

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] During the National Assembly audit, suspicions were raised that the online shopping mall Coupang is manipulating working hours.

On the 12th, Democratic Party lawmaker Yoon Jun-byeong stated at the Ministry of Employment and Labor-affiliated agency audit, "Coupang uses an application called 'Kupunchi' to record and manage workers' working hours," adding, "There are suspicions that this undermines the 52-hour workweek system."

Yoon, a member of the National Assembly's Environment and Labor Committee, pointed out, "Cases have been found where Coupang reduces working hours to below 52 hours through Kupunchi to comply with the statutory working hours."

A Coupang worker who appeared at the audit also testified, "After exceeding the 52-hour workweek, I later checked and found that my working hours had been reduced."

Due to the amendment of the Labor Standards Act, the 52-hour workweek system has been implemented since July 1, 2018, for workplaces with 300 or more employees. Before the law was enforced, the workweek was 68 hours. Since the Labor Standards Act is a mandatory regulation to protect workers, even if labor and management agree, workers cannot work more than 52 hours per week.

Lawmaker Yoon criticized, "The Ministry of Employment and Labor should investigate Coupang's labor conditions."

An official from the Ministry of Employment and Labor said, "This could be a legal violation to evade the 52-hour workweek," adding, "We will verify the facts and consider labor supervision."

Coupang stated, "Arbitrary manipulation of Kupunchi, which records clock-in and clock-out times, is a violation of company regulations, and the company strictly prohibits it," adding, "For some omissions and input errors, managers correct them after confirming with the respective delivery workers."

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