[비즈한국] Recently, two companies have been ‘targeted’ by the National Assembly following a series of incidents and accidents: Coupang (Bom Kim, Chairman of the Board of Coupang Inc.), which suffered a massive personal data breach, and private equity firm MBK Partners (Chairman Michael Kim), the owner of Homeplus. Both individuals have been uncooperative with parliamentary hearings, but the possibility of an arrest warrant being requested as early as this week is being discussed for MBK Partners Chairman Michael Kim, whose case emerged earlier.
While a parliamentary hearing for Coupang is scheduled for the 17th, Chairman Bom Kim announced on the 14th that he would not attend. Although he cited overseas business schedules as the reason, some analysts suggest he is staying away to protect executives who may be held accountable, as the ‘police investigation’ continues to expand. In fact, former Coupang CEOs Park Dae-joon and Kang Han-seung have also expressed their intent not to attend, and there are interpretations that the company is preparing for police investigations by dispatching new personnel from the U.S. headquarters to manage the situation.
Coupang's Top 3 Key Figures All Absent from Parliamentary Hearing
According to the National Assembly and political circles, Coupang Inc. Board Chairman Bom Kim submitted a letter of non-attendance to the Science, ICT, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee hearing on the 14th. In the letter, Chairman Kim stated, "As the CEO of a global company operating in over 170 countries, I am currently residing and working abroad, and it is inevitably difficult to attend the hearing due to official business commitments." This was somewhat expected. Chairman Kim also did not attend the pending issue inquiries held by the Science, ICT, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee and the National Policy Committee on the 2nd and 3rd of this month, respectively, and previously did not attend a request for witness testimony at a parliamentary audit, citing his overseas stay.
Possibilities are being raised that the hearing will be toothless, as not only Chairman Kim but also former Coupang CEOs Park Dae-joon and Kang Han-seung have stated they will not attend. Former CEO Kang Han-seung explained, "Since announcing my resignation as CEO at the end of May, I have stepped away from all related duties and am currently living and working in the U.S.," adding, "I do not know about this matter." Former CEO Park Dae-joon also clarified, "I have already attended the Science, ICT, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee and the National Policy Committee to answer everything I knew, and have since resigned from my CEO position, feeling heavy responsibility for this situation."
The National Assembly, regardless of ruling or opposition parties, is pushing back. Democratic Party members of the Science, ICT, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee issued a statement saying, "We will review follow-up measures for the three witnesses," and Representative Choi Hyung-du of the People Power Party, the opposition secretary of the committee, also pointed out on his Facebook page, "It will incite greater public anger over the irresponsibility."
Coupang announced that Harold Rogers, the newly appointed CEO of Coupang and current Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and General Counsel of Coupang Inc., will attend instead.
Staying in the U.S. to Prepare for Police Investigations?
Some suggest that in a situation where the government, the ruling party, and the opposition are all pushing back, Coupang has chosen a safe defensive strategy by remaining in the ‘United States.’
MBK Partners Chairman Michael Kim, a Korean-American like Chairman Bom Kim, is facing talk of a potential arrest warrant request this week over allegations of illegal issuance of short-term bonds at Homeplus. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office Anti-Corruption Investigation Department 3 (acting Chief Prosecutor Kim Bong-jin) is finalizing the process of requesting arrest warrants for MBK Partners and Homeplus executives, including Chairman Kim, Homeplus CEO Kim Kwang-il (Vice Chairman of MBK Partners), and Homeplus Co-CEO Jo Joo-yeon.
Since Coupang has also been reported for charges including professional breach of trust in addition to the personal data breach, there is speculation that Chairman Kim and others will continue to stay in the U.S. for some time in anticipation of the police investigation expanding.
The law firm Daeryoon, which represents the class-action lawsuit regarding the Coupang personal data breach, has launched criminal proceedings in addition to the civil damages suit. On the 5th, they filed a complaint with the Seoul Songpa Police Station against former Coupang CEO Park Dae-joon and others involved in personal information management for violations of the Personal Information Protection Act and professional breach of trust. Legal experts analyze that since there is a high possibility of further investigations into various suspected crimes, if Chairman Bom Kim returns to Korea to attend the hearing, there is a high chance he will be unable to return to the U.S.
Police have continued their search and seizure operation at Coupang—which caused the massive data breach—even through the weekend, starting from the 9th. As of the 14th, six investigators have been mobilized to conduct the search and seizure of Coupang's headquarters office in Songpa-gu for the fifth day. While police explain that the process is taking a long time due to the vast amount of digital data held by Coupang, the outlook is that the police will expand the investigation as much as possible, especially since President Lee Jae-myung has even stepped in to raise the ‘responsibility’ issue.
A lawyer who is a former chief prosecutor hinted, "If Chairman Bom Kim announces he is returning to Korea, investigative agencies will have no choice but to start by imposing a travel ban, and wouldn't Chairman Kim think it would be difficult to defend himself in that case? If he continues to stay in the U.S., it won't be easy to reach actual punishment regardless of what measures the National Assembly and investigative authorities take. It seems the investigation's trajectory will flow differently than that of MBK Partners Chairman Michael Kim."