Harold Rogers, Coupang's interim CEO, appeared for a closed-door testimony before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee on the 23rd (local time) and underwent seven hours of questioning. Attention is on the fallout from this probe into Coupang, which triggered a massive personal data leak.
Rogers entered the Judiciary Committee hearing room at the Rayburn Building in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., at about 9:42 a.m. that day. Asked by Korean reporters for his position, Interim CEO Rogers did not respond and went into the room. The Judiciary Committee Spokesperson said that day, "As this is a closed-door testimony event, we cannot disclose specific details."
The probe was held under the jurisdiction of the Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust. On the 5th, House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan and Subcommittee Chairman Scott Fitzgerald issued a subpoena to Rogers demanding his appearance for testimony. Through a letter, they requested all materials related to communications with the Korean government and written documents on how Korean government investigations could affect Coupang's business.
In the letter, they argued, "Despite trade agreements that require ensuring that U.S. corporations are not discriminated against, Korean regulators have repeatedly engaged in discriminatory treatment, unfair enforcement, and even threats of criminal penalties." They also said, "To prepare effective legislation, including new laws that protect U.S. corporations and citizens from discriminatory foreign laws and enforcement, the Committee must examine the scope and nature of these efforts and how they affect Americans' due process rights and global competitiveness."
The U.S. government has recently claimed that online platform bills introduced in the Korean National Assembly and the newly enacted law to eradicate false or manipulated information (an amendment to the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection) are also measures that discriminate against U.S. corporations. It is a point drawing attention for its potential impact on U.S. trade policy, including tariffs.
The testimony hearing procedure for Interim CEO Rogers wrapped up at about 5 p.m. that day. As he left the room, Interim CEO Rogers did not answer reporters' questions, including "What were the committee's core concerns?"
While saying it could not confirm specific details related to the testimony, the Judiciary Committee Spokesperson, asked whether this could lead to future legislative action, said, "Everything is on the table." The same answer was given to a question on whether testimony could also be taken from corporations other than Coupang.
Meanwhile, Interim CEO Rogers and Coupang are under police investigation over various allegations and charges, including downplaying the scale of the data leak and destroying evidence, perjury at a National Assembly hearing, and covering up industrial accidents. On Dec. 25 last year, Coupang announced the results of its own probe, saying 3,000 personal data entries had been leaked, but the police investigation revealed the leak reached 30 million entries, prompting allegations that some evidence was destroyed or the scale of the incident was downplayed.