The standing special prosecutor team led by Ahn Kwon-seop, which is investigating allegations that severance pay was not paid to Coupang day laborers, summoned the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) official in charge at the time of the work rules change and approval.
According to legal sources on Jan. 15, the standing special prosecutor called in a former Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) director of labor standards policy, a person surnamed Kim, as a reference and is questioning the person. is under investigation
Coupang is suspected of having changed its work rules to disadvantage workers in May 2023. At the time, Coupang changed its severance pay provision from "for day laborers who work for at least one year, only periods with fewer than 15 working hours per week are excluded" to "for those who work for at least one year and have at least 15 working hours per week."
The gist is that if the weekly 15 hours are not met during the employment period, the prior period of service is not recognized and the count is "reset" to day one of reporting to work.
The Seoul Eastern District Office of the labor ministry, which reviewed this, saw no problem with the rule at the time and approved the change.
The standing special prosecutor plans to verify the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL)'s position at the time and related matters.
In addition, from 10:30 a.m. on the day, the standing special prosecutor again summoned as a reference Shin Ga-hyeon, the Bucheon District Office prosecutor who was the lead prosecutor in the severance pay nonpayment case. It is the third time since the first questioning on Dec. 30. Whether Shin will be converted to a suspect is still under internal review, the office said.