Coupang founder may face entry ban for refusing to attend Assembly hearings

Coupang Inc. founder and Chairman Bom Kim / AP-Yonhap

A ruling party lawmaker has proposed legislation that would ban foreign nationals from entering the country if they fail to appear before National Assembly hearings without justifiable reasons, according to officials Wednesday.

Prompting the tightened parliamentary oversight power is growing political backlash over repeated refusals by Coupang Inc. Chairman Bom Kim, who is a U.S. citizen, to attend committee hearings related to a massive personal data breach at the e-commerce giant.

Lawmakers say the proposal seeks to close a legal loophole that executives based outside Korea have exploited to evade accountability despite running major businesses here.

Rep. Jeon Yong-gi of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) introduced a bill to revise two laws, each governing parliamentary witness testimonies and immigration control, late Tuesday.

The revisions would allow the National Assembly to request that the Ministry of Justice impose an entry ban on non-Korean witnesses who fail to appear before the committee hearings without valid grounds.

The justice minister would be required to enforce the ban immediately and report the action back to lawmakers.

Lawmakers say the change is aimed at restoring the authority of the National Assembly, particularly in cases involving global firms’ top decision-makers living outside the country.

“De facto owners or chief executives have repeatedly evaded parliamentary summonses,” Jeon said. “The status quo lacks practical enforcement tools once a witness is outside Korea. If foreigners have businesses here, they must also fulfill legal responsibilities accordingly.”

About 90 percent of Coupang’s revenue comes from Korea and Kim is refusing to comply with the National Assembly request, the lawmaker added.

“Does Kim consider Korean consumers pushovers? Claiming he cannot attend simply because he is a ‘global CEO’ is utterly absurd. This is a disservice to the Korean people and sends a deeply discouraging message to Coupang investors around the world," he said.

The move was triggered by Kim’s repeated failure to attend the Assembly’s Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting and Communications and National Policy committees over Coupang’s large-scale data breach, in which the personal data of 33.7 million customers was compromised.

Kim said in a written statement that he would not be able to attend the committee since he resides and works overseas and because he has pre-scheduled global business commitments, as the head of a multinational firm operating in more than 170 countries.

The response drew criticism from the public, and the lawmakers said they would move to initiate a National Assembly investigation into the e-commerce giant. They also plan to file a complaint against Kim with law enforcement authorities.

Under the law, witnesses who fail to comply with National Assembly summonses without valid grounds are subject to criminal penalties.

However, enforcement is limited when witnesses are based outside Korea.

“The legislation is expected to serve as meaningful scrutiny over foreign executives whose companies depend on continued access to the Korean market,” Jeon said.