Whistleblower prosecutor cries during National Assembly audit over Coupang case; Company promises to reinstate severance pay standards

Prosecutor Moon Ji-seok, appearing as a witness at the National Assembly audit of the Ministry of Employment and Labor on October 15, becomes emotional while responding to questions related to Coupang Fulfillment Service (CFS). / Reporter Kwon Do-hyun

Coupang Fulfillment Service (CFS) said that it will revert its severance pay standards for daily workers to the previous system, following public controversy over alleged unfair withholding of payments. Meanwhile, a senior prosecutor who handled the case testified that the prosecution leadership had omitted key evidence when deciding not to indict those involved.

At a National Assembly audit of the Ministry of Employment and Labor on October 15, CFS CEO Jung Jong-cheol appeared as a witness before the Climate, Energy, Environment and Labor Committee of the National Assembly. He said, “We have decided to restore the previous standards to improve the treatment of daily workers.” He added, “Our intent was to clarify the severance pay criteria, but it has caused misunderstandings and confusion. We deeply regret that. We will promptly carry out the necessary procedures and coordinate all matters to ensure there are no further damages.”

CFS came under fire after revising its employment rules in May 2023 in a way that allegedly deprived daily workers of their severance pay. The previous rule granted severance pay to daily workers who had been employed for more than a year, excluding weeks in which they worked fewer than 15 hours on average. However, the company added a so-called “reset clause,” requiring workers to have averaged 15 hours or more per week during the entire one-year period, effectively disqualifying many from receiving severance pay.

The Bucheon branch of the Ministry of Employment and Labor concluded that CFS had intentionally revised its internal rules to evade its legal obligation to pay severance and referred Eom Seong-hwan, former head of human resources, to the prosecution with a recommendation for indictment. But prosecutors declined to press charges in April this year.

Prosecutor Moon Ji-seok of the Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office, who led the investigation at the Bucheon branch from June last year to August this year, testified that senior officials in the prosecution had omitted critical evidence, leading to the “no charge” decision.

In response to a question from Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) lawmaker Kim Joo-young, who asked whether “Bucheon branch chief prosecutor Eom Hee-jun led the no-charge decision by omitting key evidence,” Moon said, “Yes. A ‘no-charge’ investigation guideline was issued, and as a result, crucial evidence from the search and seizure was excluded from the report to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, which then finalized the non-indictment.” Moon said he had initially reported to Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kim Dong-hee that the company’s rule change was illegal and that the case warranted indictment. “But he told me, ‘It’s clearly a no-charge case. Other branches are also ruling the same way. Don’t waste your effort,’” Moon testified.

Moon further claimed that in February this year, Chief Prosecutor Eom summoned a newly assigned prosecutor and personally gave him a “no-charge guideline” for the Coupang case. “At that time, he hadn’t even reviewed the case records. It’s highly irregular for a chief prosecutor to directly instruct a subordinate on case handling without reviewing the files,” he said.

During his testimony, Moon grew emotional and paused several times before continuing, at one point breaking into tears as he said he hoped the Coupang workers would receive their severance pay. “I believe the prosecution should indict Coupang,” he said. “I just want these workers, who are among the most vulnerable, to quickly receive the severance pay of about 2 million won they deserve. And I hope every public official involved in wrongdoing faces appropriate consequences.” Lawmakers responded with applause in the hearing room.

※This article was translated by an AI tool and edited by a professional translator.