Coupang files lawsuit over classification of employee's death as industrial accident

Last year, Coupang filed an administrative lawsuit challenging the government’s decision to classify the 2021 death of a logistics center worker as an industrial accident.

A Coupang staff member walks in front of a delivery truck with the company logo printed on it, in a logistics center in Seoul on Dec. 17. [YONHAP]

Last year, Coupang filed an administrative lawsuit challenging the government’s decision to classify the 2021 death of a logistics center worker as an industrial accident.

The e-commerce giant filed the suit in June 2024, according to legal sources on Monday. The suit aims to cancel the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service’s (K-Comwel) November 2023 decision to grant industrial accident status to the death of a worker surnamed Choi, who died in April 2021.

Choi began working at a Coupang logistics center in October 2020, primarily tasked with sorting and loading packages. He died at home just over six months later. The cause of death was determined to be coronary arteriosclerosis resulting in acute myocardial infarction.

Despite Choi’s preexisting conditions, such as hyperlipidemia, the welfare service concluded in 2023 that the shift work and physically strenuous nature of his job contributed to his death, recognizing it as an industrial accident.

Coupang has argued that there were procedural flaws in the service’s approval. The company said that while the agency initially denied industrial accident recognition, the decision was reversed after Choi’s bereaved family appealed.

Coupang's headquarters in Songpa District, southern Seoul. [NEWS1]

Coupang claims the appeal was filed after the legal deadline for objection passed.

“We are seeking a court ruling because K-Comwel made its decision in violation of procedure,” said a Coupang spokesperson. “This is the only case in which Coupang Fulfillment Services or any Coupang affiliate has filed an administrative suit against an industrial accident ruling by K-Comwel.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom. BY KIM JI-HYE [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]