Civic Group Claims '72 Revolving Door Hires'... Coupang Says 'Only Half the Major Conglomerates'

CCEJ: "Public Officials Ethics Committee and Ministry of Personnel Management Indiscriminately Approved Post-Retirement Employment"

Claims Coupang's Hiring of Former Officials Was Enabled Based on Own Investigation

Also Files Public Interest

Coupang expressed regret and questioned the fairness and reliability of the investigation, in response to claims by a civic group that the Public Officials Ethics Committee and the Ministry of Personnel Management had negligently approved post-retirement employment, effectively allowing Coupang’s “revolving door cartel.”

On the 11th, a press conference was held at the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ) in Jongno-gu, Seoul, revealing Coupang's all-out influence peddling practices and filing a public interest audit request with the Public Officials Ethics Committee and the Ministry of Personnel Management. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

On the 11th, Coupang issued a statement countering the press conference held by the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ), saying, "We regret the discriminatory announcements and audit requests that focus solely on the hiring scale of former and current employees at a single company, Coupang."

Earlier that morning, CCEJ stated, "According to our own investigation, 394 out of 405 former public officials from the National Assembly who were subject to employment screening over the past six years (97.28%) were deemed eligible for employment, and all 33 who required employment approval were approved.” The group added, “Among those 33 approved, it is suspected that 11 individuals who were initially restricted from employment were later included, meaning that ultimately all applicants received approval through the employment approval process.”

CCEJ further explained that the Public Officials Ethics Committee approved 4,727 out of 5,226 applicants (90.45%), and through this process, Coupang recruited as many as 72 former high-ranking officials across the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

CCEJ criticized, “Coupang’s recruitment of former officials coincides exactly with the timing of critical corporate risks such as a series of worker deaths and large-scale personal data leaks,” and added, “By building a powerful ‘bureaucrat mafia cartel,’ Coupang is fundamentally blocking judicial risks.” Based on these findings, the group filed a public interest audit request with the Board of Audit and Inspection, alleging legal violations and dereliction of duty by the Public Officials Ethics Committee and the Ministry of Personnel Management.

In response, Coupang argued, “The CCEJ’s investigation raises doubts about the investigation’s fairness and reliability, as it inflates employee positions and categorizes even moves from Coupang to public service as part of the revolving door cartel.” The company added, “According to research by corporate analysis institutions, Coupang’s hiring of retired public officials over the past four years ranks only seventh, which is less than half the level of major domestic conglomerates. Last year, Coupang’s overall hiring scale ranked second nationwide, but the proportion of former officials among total hires is extremely low compared to other leading companies.”

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