Over the past six years, the pass rates for post-retirement employment reviews by the National Assembly and the Government Public Service Ethics Committees reached 100% and 90%, respectively. During the same period, 47 former officials from the National Assembly and the government were found to have been reemployed at Coupang and its affiliates.
The Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ) held a press conference on the 11th at the CCEJ auditorium in Jongno-gu, Seoul, and announced the findings of this investigation.
According to the CCEJ, over the past six years the National Assembly Public Service Ethics Committee approved all 438 employment reviews. Of these, 16 people moved to Coupang and its affiliates.
During the same period, the Government Public Service Ethics Committee approved 4,727 of 5,226 cases subject to review, or about 90%. Of the 30 people who underwent Coupang employment reviews, 29 passed. However, one person was found to have already taken a job at Coupang without authorization in Nov. 2025, before receiving an employment restriction disposition. Including the unauthorized hire, 31 former government officials secured employment at Coupang.
Retired public officials must undergo review by the Public Service Ethics Committee if they seek employment at private companies or institutions related to their former duties within three years of retirement. But in practice, most hires were approved, undermining the purpose of the system, the CCEJ said.
On that basis, the CCEJ argued that Coupang may have massively recruited former and incumbent public officials to build what it called a "guanfia cartel." The CCEJ estimated the number of former officials at up to 72. The group said these former officials may be divided into roles such as ▲ legislative lobbying unit ▲ judicial and investigative defense unit ▲ administrative and regulatory response unit ▲ political and public opinion response unit.
By agency, 13 were from the Korean National Police Agency, the most of any, followed by three each from the Korea Fair Trade Commission and the Prosecution Service. The CCEJ said, "They are mobilizing former desk editors at major media outlets to continue controlling critical public opinion and exerting external pressure on the government."
The CCEJ also said it will file a public interest audit request with the Board of Audit and Inspection over potential legal violations and dereliction of duty by the Public Service Ethics Committee and the Ministry of Personnel Management. The CCEJ filed three audit items: ▲ the formalization of the Government Public Service Ethics Committee's review function and dereliction of duty ▲ lack of oversight of post-retirement "illegal lobbying and defense" activities ▲ administrative negligence that allowed the spread of the "guanfia cartel."
The CCEJ added that, based on these findings, it will also consider filing complaints by identifying key parties involved.
Coupang, citing research by a corporate analysis institute, countered that the number of retired public officials it hired over the past four years ranked only seventh in Korea and was less than half that of major conglomerates. It said that given Coupang's employment scale was the second largest in Korea as of last year, the level is very low.
A Coupang official said, "This investigation raises doubts about fairness and credibility, such as inflating employee ranks and even tying moves from Coupang to public office into a former-officials cartel," adding, "It is regrettable to see a discriminatory announcement and audit request that highlight only the hiring scale of current and former staff at a single corporations."