Coupang draws bipartisan criticism as founder skips parliamentary hearing

Coupang’s founder Kim Bom-suk came under bipartisan fire Wednesday after refusing to appear at a National Assembly hearing on the company's massive customer data breach affecting more than 33 million people, with lawmakers lashing out at him for evading responsibility. The much-awaited hearing took place without the presence of the company's founder, also known as Bom Kim, who is the chairman of Coupang Inc., the parent company of its Korean unit, Coupang Corp. He said days earlier that he would be unable to attend because he lives overseas and was busy with commitments in his capacity as chief executive of the global company. Instead, the top executive to attend was Harold Rogers, who was appointed as the Korean unit’s interim CEO only a week earlier, after his predecessor Park Dae-jun resigned — an appointment and attendance widely interpreted as a shield for Kim. Lawmakers on the National Assembly's Science, ICT, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee condemned Kim for showing a "disregard for both the Assembly and Korean consumers." "We will take steps to launch a full parlWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times