Internal emails confirm that during the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s labor inspection, Coupang contacted working-level officials at the ministry, and after the meetings the number of criminally punishable items for Coupang affiliates was reduced. Mobilizing a ‘government affairs line’ that included Kim & Chang and executives who were former Blue House administrative officers, Coupang obtained internal information from the ministry and even cross-verified the information. As the ministry has launched an audit into allegations that Coupang arranged meals and otherwise attempted improper contact with the labor inspector in charge, the collusion controversy is expected to widen.

According to internal emails obtained on the 8th by the Kyunghyang Shinmun through former Coupang Chief Privacy Officer (CPO) Mr. A, Coupang was tracking the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s moves in real time through Kim & Chang and its in-house ‘government affairs organization’ in connection with the October 2020 death of the late Jang Deok-jun at the Daegu and Chilgok logistics centers. The information obtained at the time was reported to management, including the foreign Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), indicating that the company was systematically managing the worker’s death case at the corporate level.

An email dated November 3, 2020 stated, “K&C (Kim & Chang) heard from an ‘MOEL inside source’ that, due to the death at the Daegu FC (fulfillment center), the investigation should proceed only against Coupang and CFS (Coupang Fulfillment Services).” This suggests that information leaked to Coupang before the ministry officially notified the supervised entities of the investigation. Coupang also showed meticulousness in cross-verifying the information. The email says, “This report differs from B’s report,” and, “We asked Kim & Chang to find a more accurate source by tomorrow morning.” The ‘B’ mentioned here refers to an executive hired by Coupang who was a former Blue House administrative officer.

In a phone call with the reporter, Mr. B said, “I do not recall exactly whether I heard the information from the ministry or from the National Assembly,” and, “If I was indeed the one who relayed it, it is highly likely I heard something that had leaked from the National Assembly.” Kim & Chang did not respond to inquiries about the case. It is known that former MOEL officials worked at Kim & Chang, including a former Minister of Employment and Labor who served as an adviser starting in August 2020.

According to a November 13, 2020 email titled ‘MOEL Audit wrap up,’ Coupang executives received a call the previous night from Ministry Section Chief C and met Team Leader D (a labor inspector) at 9 a.m. that day. Team Leader D was reportedly the person being audited by the ministry in connection with allegations of a ‘meal treat’ from Coupang. What they discussed was the outcome of the industrial safety and health (K-OSHA) inspections the ministry had been conducting at Coupang’s logistics sites.

After that meeting, the number of safety and health violations subject to criminal penalties at Coupang’s logistics centers, initially conveyed as 10 for CFS, was reduced to eight. The email explained, “Three conveyor-related findings at the Dongtan logistics center were ‘consolidated’ into one, reducing the final item count.” Section Chief C even provided information about other companies, saying to Coupang, “As for conveyor safety violations, Coupang has one case while a competitor has 77.” A senior Coupang executive boasted in an email, “The most interesting thing we have heard so far is that a competitor had 77 findings, but we have only one.”

Legal circles say this response by Coupang seriously undermines the fairness of the judicial and administrative systems. A sitting chief prosecutor said, “Coupang is using former officials with school and regional ties even in cases involving small damages such as unpaid severance to extract information and sweep cases under the rug,” adding, “Given that informants from either Coupang or Kim & Chang are siphoning off information, the government is not blameless either.” Jeong Ji-ung, attorney and chair of the Citizens’ Legislative Committee at the Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice, said, “If a former high-ranking public official moved to a private company or a large law firm after retirement and sought to obtain internal government information to lower the level of investigation or punishment, there is a very high likelihood of criminal liability.”

Coupang did not answer questions about the authenticity of the emails or the lobbying allegations. The ‘Coupang special counsel’ is currently investigating whether, in connection with allegations of external pressure leading to a non-indictment in a severance pay case, the prosecution leaked search-and-seizure information to Coupang in advance. The ministry also removed from duty a district office chief accused of obstructing the investigation in the Coupang severance pay case.