Ex-Coupang Inc chief summoned for second police questioning over perjury allegations

By Kim Do-yoon, The Herald Business

Park Dae-joon, the former head of Coupang Inc's South Korea operations, appeared before police Tuesday for a second round of questioning over allegations he committed perjury at a National Assembly joint hearing convened after the company's massive personal data breach.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's anti-corruption investigation unit summoned Park as a suspect under the Act on Testimony and Appraisal before the National Assembly and conducted the second round of questioning Tuesday morning, police said.

Park had testified as a witness at the National Assembly's joint Coupang hearing on Dec. 30 and 31 last year. The National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting and Communications Committee filed a complaint against him on charges that he gave false testimony, including over allegations that the company concealed a workplace accident death involving logistics worker Jang Deok-jun.

Park first appeared before police as a suspect on Feb. 3 for initial questioning.

He has also been questioned by police as a reference witness in the so-called "Coupang luncheon" case involving independent lawmaker Kim Byung-kee. The allegation is that Kim, at a meal with Park, called for personnel action against a former aide who had exposed various allegations against the lawmaker after the aide took a job at Coupang Inc.