Coupang Issues First Apology for Blacklist at Environment and Labor Committee Hearing (Summary)

Coupang, which has faced ongoing controversy over delivery drivers dying from overwork, has apologized for the first time for creating a ‘employment restriction blacklist.’

Kang Han-seung, CEO of Coupang (from left), Hong Yong-jun, CEO of Coupang Logistics Service (CLS), and Jung Jong-cheol, CEO of Coupang Fulfillment Service (CFS), are greeting Chairman Ahn Ho-young at the Environment and Labor Committee's hearing on the improvement of working conditions, including late-night work of Coupang delivery workers, held at the National Assembly on the 21st. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

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Jung Jong-cheol, CEO of Coupang Fulfillment Services (CFS), appeared as a witness at the ‘Coupang Delivery Workers’ Working Conditions Improvement Hearing’ held by the National Assembly’s Environment and Labor Committee on the 21st, stating, “I believe there were excessive aspects related to the said material (blacklist).” He also said that lawsuits against the media that reported critically and the whistleblowers of the blacklist would be immediately withdrawn.

Coupang was embroiled in controversy after it was revealed last year that it had created a blacklist including union members and executives who raised issues about labor conditions, journalists, and current members of the National Assembly.

Hong Yong-jun, CEO of Coupang Logistics Services (CLS), also appeared as a witness that day and apologized, saying, “I am sorry for the parts that were used somewhat extensively.”

However, CEO Hong claimed that the list was created targeting individuals involved in incidents such as theft, sexual harassment, and assault within Coupang, and was not intended to overwork ordinary employees.

According to a report by MBC in February last year, Coupang CFS, a logistics center operating subsidiary of Coupang, had created and operated a so-called employment restriction blacklist over six years since September 2017 to limit the reemployment of about 16,000 people who passed through the logistics centers. As the controversy grew, Coupang CFS dismissed it as merely a personnel evaluation document to prevent reemployment of those who caused trouble due to theft, etc. However, the controversy intensified when it was confirmed that the list also included journalists who had previously reported critically on Coupang’s labor environment.

At the hearing, criticism also arose that the blacklist was used as a means of controlling workers and encouraged overwork. Kim Tae-seon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, emphasized, “The worst aspect of the blacklist is that people push their bodies to the limit to avoid being on that list,” adding, “As a result, it leads to delivery drivers working late at night and overworking.” In response, CEO Jung explained, “It is not an item that makes employees overwork at all.”

Kang Han-seung, CEO of Coupang, is attending the Environment and Labor Committee's hearing on "Improving Working Conditions for Coupang Delivery Workers Including Night Shifts" held at the National Assembly on the 21st. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

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Ruling and opposition party members of the Environment and Labor Committee jointly criticized Coupang founder Kim Beom-seok, chairman of Coupang Inc’s board, for not attending the hearing that day. Chairman Kim submitted a letter of absence citing attendance at the inauguration ceremony of U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington D.C. on the 20th (local time) as the reason.

Although there was the pretext of the Trump presidential inauguration, both ruling and opposition parties demanded that appropriate measures be taken regarding Chairman Kim’s absence from the hearing.

Kim Hyung-dong, the ruling party’s secretary of the Environment and Labor Committee and a member of the People Power Party, said about Chairman Kim, “This attitude of ignoring the National Assembly is absurd,” and added, “(The Environment and Labor Committee) should take measures such as filing a complaint.”

Kang Deuk-gu, a Democratic Party member, said, “Chairman Kim, the actual owner of Coupang, said he would be inevitably absent today due to attending the U.S. presidential inauguration,” and pointed out, “I think we need to hold another hearing based on today’s hearing results. In that sense, Chairman Kim must attend when requested next time.”

Jung Hye-kyung, a member of the Progressive Party, also criticized, saying, “Is the U.S. president’s inauguration more important than the deaths of Korean workers?” and added, “That is befitting of the CEO who built that company on the deaths of workers.”

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