Coupang CFS to provide W4.5b in aid to residents affected by Incheon warehouse fire

Coupang Fulfillment Services, the logistics subsidiary of Coupang Inc, said Sunday it will roll out a 4.5 billion won ($3.26 million) comprehensive support package to help residents and the broader community recover from a warehouse fire that broke out in Incheon in July.

CFS said it will pay a living allowance of 50,000 won per person and a damage recovery grant of 100,000 won per household to residents in parts of Seokhnam 1-dong and Sinhyeon-dong in Incheon's Seohaegu district, near the fire site.

Residents of Seokhnam 1-dong — where the impact was most severe due to smoke inhalation and evacuation — will receive higher amounts: 100,000 won per person in living allowances and 200,000 won per household in recovery grants. CFS estimated the total number of living-allowance recipients at about 28,000 people and the number of households eligible for recovery grants at about 15,000.

A dedicated call center set up to handle individual property damage claims will continue operating through the end of November as originally planned. CFS said it will also pursue separate compensation procedures for losses that can be individually verified.

Support for local public infrastructure will proceed at the same time. CFS said it will donate a combined 150 million won in school development funds to four nearby schools — Sinseok Elementary School, which was ordered to close during the fire, and Sinhyeon Elementary School, Sinhyeon North Elementary School and Sinhyeon Girls' Middle School, all of which served as temporary evacuation shelters.

CFS will also donate supplies to welfare facilities, provide scholarships for children of firefighters who battled the blaze, supply equipment to fire stations and support volunteer fire brigades — all in coordination with local fire departments. In addition, CFS has worked out an arrangement with the Seohaegu district office to give local residents priority hiring for key positions involving automated equipment and technology at its logistics centers in the area.

"We drew on the opinions of loss adjustment experts to put together this comprehensive support plan," CFS Chief Executive Jeong Jong-cheol said. "We sincerely apologize to the residents who suffered, and we will do everything we can to help the community regain stability as quickly as possible."

The large-scale compensation package comes even as CFS faces roughly 350 billion won in operating losses from the fire, which burned for more than 109 hours. The move is seen as an effort to contain growing public backlash, fulfill the company's social responsibilities and rebuild trust with the local community.