Photo : YONHAP News
A special counsel team investigating e-commerce giant Coupang has raided the Ministry of Employment and Labor.
The team led by Ahn Gweon-seob sent investigators to the ministry’s offices at the government complex in Sejong City and to the Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Office.
The raid covered the Labor Standard Policy Division and the Retirement Pension and Welfare Division at the Sejong complex. Investigators seized the mobile phones of relevant officials.
Ahn is investigating whether Coupang Fulfillment Services, a Coupang subsidiary, revised its employment rules in May 2023 in a way that led workers to fail to receive severance pay.
The case was first referred for indictment in January by the Bucheon branch of the Ministry of Employment and Labor. However, in April, the Bucheon branch of the Incheon District Prosecutors’ Office elected not to indict the company.
The special counsel team suspects that Coupang mobilized its government relations organization to have the case dismissed.