[Anchor]
As revealed through our reports last year, suspicions arose that Coupang attempted to cover up the death of the late Jang Deok-jun, who passed away following a night shift. The Ministry of Employment and Labor stated that there was an inappropriate directive from then-CEO Kim Bom-sark at the time. However, it concluded that holding anyone criminally responsible is difficult because the statute of limitations has expired and the charge of concealing an industrial accident is hard to apply.
Reporter Baegun has the details.
[Reporter]
The late Jang Deok-jun passed away in October 2020 after finishing a night shift at Coupang's Chilgok logistics center.
In December of last year, SBS exclusively reported that then-Coupang CEO Kim Bom-sark had given instructions to ensure that "records showing he worked diligently do not remain in the deceased's work records."
Coupang's internal data recorded even the time spent drinking water or using the restroom down to the minute and second.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor, which has been investigating the suspicions of industrial accident concealment, stated that it confirmed such inappropriate instructions were indeed given.
It was also found that during the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service investigation, Coupang submitted CCTV footage in which Jang was not visible and made statements regarding the working environment that contradicted the video.
However, the Labor Ministry stated that the occurrence of the industrial accident was reported and no interference with industrial accident approval was confirmed, making it difficult to apply charges for concealing an industrial accident.
It also announced plans to forward the case with a recommendation for non-prosecution as the statute of limitations has expired.
Since March, the Labor Ministry has also conducted industrial safety inspections on 105 Coupang logistics centers and delivery camps.
This period saw a concentration of overwork and safety issues raised, including fatal accidents in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, and Jeju.
[Lee Jae-soon / Head of the Chuncheon Branch, Coupang Division of the National Courier Union (December of last year): There is only one thing we want. An environment where people can work without dying, and the simple daily life of being able to have dinner with our families after getting off work.]
As a result of the inspections, a massive 205 violations were uncovered.
It was found that emergency stop devices or safety guards were not installed on conveyors, and safety measures to prevent collisions between forklifts and workers were inadequate.
Cases of failing to conduct special health checkups for night-shift workers or improperly managing resting facilities were also identified.
Additionally, during the inspection, the ministry found circumstances indicating that Coupang had pressured workers to withdraw industrial accident applications through settlements or manager interviews, and has initiated an investigation.
The Labor Ministry plans to take judicial action for 61 out of the 205 legal violations and impose a total of approximately 1.96 billion won in fines for the remaining 144 violations.
(Video Editing: Kim Jong-mi, Design: Park Tae-young, VJ: Lee Ji-hwan)
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