Coupang founder must stop dodging accountability

Kim Beom-seok, the founder and de facto controlling shareholder of Coupang and chairman of the board of Coupang Inc., submitted a written statement saying he would be unable to attend a hearing of the National Assembly’s Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee scheduled for Dec. 17. He cited official business commitments as chief executive officer of a global company operating in more than 170 countries. The decision came despite a massive personal data breach in South Korea, which accounts for more than 90 percent of Coupang’s total revenue, affecting 33.7 million people, roughly two-thirds of the population. Kim said he could not travel to the country because of overseas business obligations.

Kim has been selected six times over the past decade as a witness for National Assembly audits and hearings but has never appeared. In 2015, when he was first summoned over allegations of unfair practices toward subcontractors, he said he had ruptured his Achilles tendon while playing basketball, making it difficult for him to move or even wear long pants. He later continued to avoid appearances, offering a range of explanations. As enforcement of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act approached, he stepped down in 2021 from his roles as chairman and registered director of Coupang’s South Korean unit, effectively severing his legal ties to the company’s Korean operations. This year, he was again asked three times to appear but declined each time, citing reasons such as attending a U.S. presidential inauguration and overseas business trips.

This time, Kim cited his position as chief executive officer of a global company as the reason for not appearing before the National Assembly. Yet neither Coupang nor Kim has demonstrated the level of social responsibility expected of a global corporation. Lax security practices, delayed responses to the data breach and repeated attempts to deflect responsibility have fueled public outrage. Even so, Kim has remained silent and has offered no direct explanation.

Despite being the de facto controlling shareholder who owns all of Coupang Inc.’s shares and controls 74.3 percent of its voting rights, Kim has stayed out of public view, placing salaried executives between himself and the fallout. His actions suggest a focus on minimizing legal exposure rather than addressing public concern. That posture was reinforced by the decision, after the breach, to appoint as Coupang’s local representative a legal expert from its U.S. headquarters with no familiarity with South Korea, a move that underscored Kim’s detached approach to the crisis.

Even now, Kim should step forward to face the public, explain what happened, accept responsibility and offer a sincere apology to those affected. If he continues to profit in South Korea while retreating to the United States whenever accountability is demanded, Coupang will struggle to restore trust, regardless of what corrective measures it announces. The consequences facing companies that disregard the public and their consumers must be made unmistakably clear.