Coupang’s Kim apologizes, skips hearing again

Dec 29, 2025, 09:43 am

Kim Beom-seok, chairman of the board of Coupang Inc., has issued his first public apology a month after a massive customer data breach, but has again notified the National Assembly that he will not attend a parliamentary hearing, drawing sharp criticism from ruling party lawmakers.

According to political sources on Sunday, Kim informed lawmakers that he would not appear at a joint hearing scheduled for Dec. 30–31, convened by six standing committees of the National Assembly to address the large-scale leak of Coupang customers’ personal information. His younger brother Kim Yoo-seok, a Coupang vice president, and former CEO Kang Han-seung also submitted written explanations for their absence.

This is not the first time Kim has declined to attend a parliamentary hearing related to the data breach. He failed to appear at a hearing held by the Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee on Dec. 17, citing “business schedules,” and has taken the same position again, saying prior commitments make attendance difficult.

With Kim’s absence raising concerns that the hearing will be reduced to a formality, backlash in political circles has intensified. Rep. Choi Min-hee, chair of the parliamentary committee, wrote on Facebook that she could not accept Coupang’s stance, asking what could be more important than “the hacking incident affecting 33.7 million people and the deaths of Coupang workers,” and accusing the company of disregarding the public and the National Assembly.

The Democratic Party of Korea warned that further measures would follow even after the hearing. Party chief spokesperson Park Soo-hyun said the upcoming joint hearing “will not be the end,” adding that the government and parliament would pursue steps including a parliamentary investigation, as well as the introduction of class action lawsuits and punitive damages to hold the company accountable.

Kim released his first apology statement alongside his notice of nonattendance. “I sincerely apologize for the insufficient initial response and lack of communication immediately after the incident,” he said. “Once the government’s final investigation results are released, we will establish measures to prevent a recurrence based on those findings.”

#Coupang #Kim Beom-seok #data breach #personal information leak #parliamentary hearing