Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Coupang Interim Chief Questioned for 12 Hours in Evidence-Tampering Probe

Police are scrutinizing the company’s self-run inquiry that reported 3,000 affected accounts despite official estimates in the tens of millions.

Overview

  • Harold Rogers appeared at Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on Jan. 30 as a suspect in an obstruction and evidence-destruction investigation tied to Coupang’s data breach.
  • Rogers was questioned for roughly 12 hours and left at 2:22 a.m., declining to say whether he admitted the allegations or planned to depart the country, and further questioning remains possible.
  • Investigators are probing Coupang’s handling of a laptop recovered in China from a former employee, including undisclosed internal forensic analysis and private contact with the suspect.
  • Coupang’s internal review concluded about 3,000 user records were taken, while police and government investigators say the breach likely reached around 30–33 million accounts and have criticized the company’s findings.
  • Rogers previously left Korea after a parliamentary hearing and missed two summonses, and he faces separate accusations over his testimony linking the internal probe to the National Intelligence Service, which the agency has denied.