The permanent special prosecutor, who is currently investigating allegations that pressure was put on a subordinate prosecutor to dispose of the "Coupang unpaid severance pay" case without indictment, summoned Busan High Prosecutors' Office Prosecutor Kim Dong-hee for a second round of questioning on the 4th.
According to legal sources, the special prosecutor summoned Kim around 10 a.m. that day as a suspect on charges including abuse of authority and leaking official secrets. Before the questioning, when asked, "The special prosecutor indicted after recognizing regular employment status, unlike the prosecution's conclusion. Do you have a comment?" Kim said, "I will faithfully comply with the investigation."
Kim is accused, along with Um Hee-jun of the Gwangju High Prosecutors' Office (former head of the Bucheon Branch of the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office), who was Kim's superior at the time, of pressing Prosecutor Moon Ji-seok, who was investigating the Coupang case, to dispose of it without indictment. Kim is also suspected of having informed attorney Kwon Sun-young, who represented Coupang, of investigative information such as details of a search and seizure and supplementary directives from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office.
The special prosecutor is said to be pressing Kim on whether there was coercion to dispose without indictment and whether Kim received any request from Coupang regarding the direction of the disposition.
The suspicion of unpaid severance at Coupang centers on an allegation that in May 2023 the company changed its workplace rules in a way unfavorable to workers and delayed payment of funds with the nature of severance. The company changed its rules on severance-related payments from "for day laborers, exclude only periods with fewer than 15 working hours per week if employed for more than one year" to "if employed for more than one year and with at least 15 working hours per week," and required that if even a single day during the employment period fell under 15 hours per week, the calculation period would be reset from that point. This was also called the "severance reset rule."
Earlier, the Bucheon Branch, where Kim served as deputy chief prosecutor, disposed of the case without charges and without indictment in Apr. last year, although the Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Office had sent it over with an opinion to indict. Prosecutor Moon claimed at the National Assembly audit in Oct. last year that the branch chief and the deputy chief pressured for a no-charge disposition. The special prosecutor questioned Kim on the 7th of last month and Um on the 9th, and plans a second round of questioning for Um on the 9th.
The day before, the special prosecutor indicted former and current CEOs and the corporation of Coupang Fulfillment Services (CFS) on charges of violating the Guaranteed Retirement Benefits for Workers Act (Severance Pay Act). The disposition was premised on a determination that day laborers' status as regular workers is recognized, which differs in nature from the Bucheon Branch's no-charge conclusion and is emerging as a key issue alongside the probe into alleged outside pressure not to indict.
Meanwhile, the special prosecutor is also looking into whether Coupang, through its government affairs team, influenced the work of the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL). On the 27th of last month, the special prosecutor raided the Labor Standards Policy Division and the Retirement Pension Welfare Division at the MOEL Sejong Government Complex. In connection with allegations that the MOEL secured a legal opinion pointing out potential violations of the Severance Pay Act but did not share it with local offices, a person surnamed Kim at headquarters who approved the request for that opinion at the time appeared at the special prosecutor's office that day to observe a forensic examination of a mobile phone. Law firms mentioned as having taken part in the opinion included Shin & Kim LLC, YulChon, and Jipyung LLC.