Coupang

Dec. 26 (Asia Today) — South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) said Thursday it had lodged a strong protest after Coupang unilaterally disclosed what it called investigation results into a customer data breach, stressing that the claims have not been verified by the ongoing joint probe.

In a press release, the ministry said a public-private joint investigation team is still closely examining the type, scale and cause of the data leak. “The assertions made by Coupang have not been confirmed by the joint investigation team,” MSIT said.

Earlier in the day, Coupang posted a notice on its website stating that it had identified the leaker and secured all devices and hard disk drives used in the breach. The company claimed that, based on its investigation to date, the leaker stored customer information limited to about 3,000 accounts and subsequently deleted all of it.

Coupang also said it used forensic evidence, including “digital fingerprints,” to identify a former employee responsible for the leak, adding that the individual confessed to all actions and provided a detailed account of how customer information was accessed.

MSIT reiterated that any conclusions regarding the incident must come from the joint public-private investigation, cautioning against premature disclosures that could mislead the public while the probe remains underway.

–Copyright by Asiatoday

Dec. 19 (Asia Today) — A South Korean civic group said most retired National Assembly officials subject to post-employment screening were cleared to take private-sector jobs, calling the results evidence of a serious revolving-door problem involving major companies, supervised agencies and law firms.

The Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice said at a news conference Thursday that it analyzed employment screening decisions involving retired National Assembly officials from 2020 to 2025. The group said the review covered lawmakers, aides and National Assembly Secretariat staff.

South Korea’s post-employment screening system is designed to determine whether a retired public official’s new job is closely related to their former duties and whether it should be approved. The purpose is to prevent improper collusion between public officials and private institutions.

CCEJ said 427 of 438 National Assembly cases, or 97.5%, received decisions allowing employment, either as “employment possible” or “employment approved.” The group said “employment possible” applies when the new position is deemed unrelated to the official’s previous duties, while “employment approved” applies when there is a connection but authorities find grounds for a special approval.

CCEJ said more than half of those cleared, 239 people, joined private companies. By major corporate groups, the group said Coupang hired the most, with 16 people, including 15 aides and one policy research fellow. LG followed with 11, SK with 10, Samsung with nine and KT with eight.

CCEJ said the National Assembly holds significant powers, including legislation, budgeting and state audits. It argued that when former officials move directly into jobs at audited agencies, major corporations or law firms tied to their prior duties, it can lead to collusion between politics and business and preferential treatment for former officials.

The group called for stronger requirements for approving post-retirement employment tied to the National Assembly, tighter reviews of job relevance and disclosure of specific reasons when screening results are announced.

– Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

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