As the unprecedented incident of personal data leakage affecting 33.7 million people continues to spread, responsibility is being pointed at Kim Beom-seok, the founder and effective operator of Coupang. Criticism has emerged that while he enjoys the fruits of Coupang’s rapid growth, he distances himself when major accidents occur.
According to the retail industry on the 1st, Kim Beom-seok has not made any statements even three days after the data leakage incident emerged. After the situation became known on the 29th of the previous month, Coupang has been trying to address the issue through an apology issued by CEO Park Dae-joon. However, Kim has remained completely in the background.
The problem lies in that Kim’s distancing approach does not align with his significant influence. Currently, Kim is neither the head of Coupang’s Korean entity nor a member of its board. He stepped down from all official positions in 2021 and only retained titles as the chairman of the board and CEO of Coupang Inc., the American corporation. Legally, it seems he is not involved in the management of Coupang in Korea, but in reality, he controls the Korean business through the U.S. parent company.
His actual control is absolute. Even though Kim holds less than 10% of Coupang Inc.’s shares, he has Class B shares that carry 29 times more voting rights than regular shares, with his exercisable voting rights exceeding 70%. Essentially, major investments and even the security policy directions, which are currently problematic, cannot be decided without Kim’s approval.
Despite this, Kim evades responsibility using legal loopholes during crises. When the Deokpyeong Logistics Center fire occurred in 2021, he resigned as a registered director of the Korean entity just five hours after the accident, avoiding legal responsibility. He also repeatedly refused to testify at the National Assembly audit citing his affiliation with the American corporation. Even now, in the face of this “digital disaster” involving the leakage of 33.7 million pieces of information, he maintains the same stance. An industry insider commented, “The principle of corporate management is that responsibility lies where authority exists,” emphasizing that Kim should step forward this time.