As controversy grows over Kim Beom-suk, the Coupang Inc. chair, saying he will not attend a National Assembly hearing, the Democratic Party of Korea introduced a bill to ban entry in such cases.
Rep. Jeon Yong-gi of the Democratic Party on the 16th proposed revisions to the National Assembly Testimony and Appraisal Act and the Immigration Act. The revision to the National Assembly Testimony and Appraisal Act would allow the National Assembly plenary session or a standing committee, by resolution, to request the Minister of Justice to ban entry if a foreign witness fails to appear without a justifiable reason, and would require the Minister of Justice to act on it without delay.
Explaining the proposal, Rep. Jeon said, "Recently, the actual owners of management at corporations such as Coupang and MBK Partners, which are generating enormous profits in the domestic market, have been deliberately avoiding appearances by citing foreign status or overseas residence when the National Assembly legitimately summons them as witnesses for audits or investigations."
He continued, "Current law provides for a custody order or criminal penalties for witnesses who fail to appear without a justifiable reason, but for foreigners the execution of a custody order is effectively impossible," and "when they are staying overseas, it is difficult to ensure the effectiveness of punishment, leading to criticism that they exploit a 'blind spot in the law.'"
Rep. Jeon said, "This also runs counter to fairness with domestic businesspeople who faithfully comply with the National Assembly's requests," calling it "an act that nullifies the National Assembly's constitutional authority to oversee state affairs."
The Immigration Act revision would specify as a ground for entry bans a "person who, as a National Assembly witness, failed to appear without a justifiable reason."
The Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee will hold the "Coupang personal information leak hearing" at 10 a.m. on the 17th. Six people were selected as witnesses, including Chair Kim Beom-suk, former CEO Park Dae-jun, General Manager Kang Han-seung, Coupang Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) Brett Mathis, Coupang Policy Cooperation Office Vice President Min Byung-gi, and Coupang National Assembly and Government Affairs Vice President Cho Yong-woo, but Chair Kim, former CEO Park, and General Manager Kang submitted a written statement explaining his absence on the 14th. The Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee decided to refer them to prosecutors and push for a parliamentary investigation.