One reason Coupang has been able to actively hire foreign talent is a visa issuance system favorable to foreign corporations. Most foreigners must obtain an E-7 (specific activities) visa to work at Korean corporations, but foreign corporations like Coupang can also use D-7 (intra-company transferee) and D-8 (foreign investment) visas.
A massive data leak recently occurred at Coupang, and the foreigner-heavy workforce structure in the information technology (IT) institutional sector has drawn scrutiny. During the police investigation, a Chinese developer who resigned was identified as a suspect, prompting criticism that the high proportion of foreigners led to lax internal controls. About 1,000 of Coupang's employees working in Korea are foreigners, reportedly around 10% of the total. However, Coupang and the Coupang union said it is difficult to disclose personnel-related details, including those about specific employees.
According to the related industry on the 12th, a key reason foreigners are particularly numerous at Coupang is that obtaining the necessary visas when hiring them is easier than at Korean corporations. Coupang operates most of its business in Korea, but it is a subsidiary of Coupang Inc., based in Delaware in the United States. The Korean legal entity known as "Coupang Co., Ltd." is legally a foreign corporation.
As a rule, Korean corporations premise foreign hiring on issuing the E-7 (specific activities) visa. The E-7 is issued to foreigners with expertise and skills in specific fields and is subdivided into 87 occupations, including information technology (IT), management, finance, and design. The requirements to be met—such as education, career, language ability, and income—are stringent.
A representative at Ace Administrative Office said, "You can assume that foreign office workers employed by Korean corporations almost always obtain the E-7," and added, "There are many in overseas marketing and sales, and the proportion of developers such as software engineers is also rising." The person said, "There is no fixed quota, but many are filtered out due to eligibility requirements."
Foreign corporations like Coupang can use D-7 (intra-company transferee) and D-8 (foreign investment) visas in addition to the E-7. The D-7 is issued when a foreigner is dispatched from an overseas headquarters to a Korean branch or corporation, or when a foreigner who worked at a domestic corporation's overseas branch is transferred back to headquarters. The D-8 is issued to professional management and administrative personnel of foreign-invested corporations. The same applies to global IT, logistics, and imported car companies, including Google and AliExpress.
Although eligibility requirements must be met to obtain D-7 or D-8, they are objectively less strict than the E-7. Basically, from the one-year stay period guaranteed by the visa to reviews for extensions and the procedures for issuing the F-3 (dependent) visa to invite family members, D-7 and D-8 are easier than the E-7.
A representative at the Korea Foreign Companies Association (KOFA) said, "Foreign executives such as CEOs of foreign corporations mainly obtain the D-8," and added, "Because their status or qualifications are clear, the procedures, including the documents to be submitted, are simpler than for the D-7." The person added, "Up to executives in managerial positions tend to get the D-8, while practitioners such as engineers are more likely to obtain the D-7."
Some note that in Coupang's case, many foreign executives and employees do not need visas in the first place. Remote work is flexible, and due to the nature of IT tasks, it is possible to work without residing in Korea. In fact, Coupang operates offices around the world, including in China, the United States, India, and Singapore. The number of local personnel working overseas is estimated at at least 3,000.