"Ministry of Employment and Labor Handed Coupang a Get-Out-of-Jail-Free Card," Bereaved Family and Labor Circles Protest

[Anchor]

The bereaved family and labor groups have strongly protested the government's decision that while inappropriate directives existed, it was difficult to hold anyone accountable. They criticized that the Ministry gave Coupang a pass without conducting a proper investigation.

Reporting next is Lee Seong-hoon.

[Reporter]

It has already been six years since Coupang worker the late Jang Deok-jun passed away.

After watching the National Assembly's hearing on Coupang last January, Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Young-hoon criticized the company, saying, "It makes me wonder if they can ever be reformed," but the investigation concluded with a recommendation for non-indictment.

[Park Mi-sook / Mother of the late Jang Deok-jun: Why have we spent the last six years helpless, fighting while throwing everything away, only to end up with a result that amounts to nothing? Our trust in the Ministry of Employment and Labor is completely gone.]

The Coupang Countermeasure Committee criticized that the recommendation for non-indictment was issued without even summoning Coupang Chairman Kim Bom-suk for questioning once, raising suspicions that the Ministry attempted to grant Coupang a get-out-of-jail-free card.

[Kim Hye-jin / Executive Committee Chair, Coupang Countermeasure Committee: This goes beyond merely criticizing the inadequacies of the investigation and oversight. We suspect that the Ministry of Employment and Labor's investigation was conducted from the very beginning to give Coupang a free pass.]

They also pointed out that the decision—concluding that it was difficult to apply charges of covering up an industrial accident because the fact that an accident occurred was reported—was flawed.

[Kim Hye-jin / Executive Committee Chair, Coupang Countermeasure Committee: Covering up an industrial accident includes concealing the accident itself, but there is also an obligation to properly preserve the causes and records of the industrial accident. Failing to do all of this still constitutes covering up an industrial accident.]

Regarding the allegations surrounding the so-called hiring blacklist, the Ministry of Employment and Labor determined that while a list was indeed created, there were no circumstances indicating it was used to obstruct employment at other companies, thus finding no violation of the law. As for suspicions that Coupang induced the ouster of low-performing workers by assigning them impossible tasks, the Ministry stated that there were no actual cases that led to dismissal, thereby finding no violation of relevant regulations.

The Countermeasure Committee argued that the investigation was shoddy, noting that major allegations were cleared en masse.

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) also released a statement saying, "The Ministry of Employment and Labor, which cannot even call an industrial accident cover-up a cover-up, has handed Coupang a get-out-of-jail-free card," while demanding further investigations and a reexamination of the rulings on the blacklist and illegal dispatch.

The Coupang Countermeasure Committee plans to hold a press conference in front of the Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Administration tomorrow (October 23) to denounce the investigation and oversight results.

Coupang expressed regret, stating that it would take necessary measures while claiming, "The unilateral claims of a former executive who was dismissed for misconduct and lost a lawsuit were presented as if inappropriate directives had been confirmed as fact."

(Camera Reporter: Cho Chang-hyun | Video Editor: Choi Hye-young)

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