AI Translated Image

AI Translated Image

AI Translated Image

Coupang’s VP of Legal, Lee Jae-geol, testified at a National Assembly hearing today (31st) regarding whether the NIS unilaterally ordered them to contact a suspect. He stated, 'The NIS sent an official document on Dec 2nd, claiming it was a matter of national security and that Coupang had a legal obligation to comply.' When asked how many NIS agents he met, he replied 'Three,' and mentioned that other Coupang executives were also present. He continued, 'We kept in touch after that, and in early December, they told us, "It’s a good time to contact the suspect now. Try reaching out." At first, the NIS suggested contacting a local employee in China, but we said that would be difficult.' He added, 'In early December, they told us, "It would be good to send a text to the suspect now," and they gave us specific instructions on how to contact them and even the exact message to send.' Lee further claimed, 'The NIS strongly demanded that a Coupang employee must go to China with them to meet the suspect and retrieve the items, because they couldn't do it themselves.' He noted that while the NIS was aware of the basis for Coupang's public announcement, the NIS didn't technically 'order' the announcement itself. When repeatedly asked if they were told to contact the suspect unilaterally, he said, 'The NIS always speaks vaguely, but that’s how I understood it.' Regarding the recovery of evidence from a river in China, he claimed, 'We knew the laptop fell in the water because the suspect told us, and we shared that with the NIS immediately. We hesitated because we didn't know if entering a river in China was legal or illegal, but the NIS strongly told us, "You must try to go in the river and fish it out."' Regarding the forensics of the equipment used for hacking, he said the NIS told them to 'do as they saw fit once the device was recovered.' When asked if that was a direct order, he clarified, 'They meant we could handle it ourselves after retrieval—not necessarily to do a forensic review, but that we could handle things like making copies.' Regarding the background of Coupang's independent announcement, he emphasized, 'There were constant reports based on false rumors that customer info was still floating around, leading to secondary phishing scams. We felt we needed to quickly inform customers that leaked info was recovered and the rest deleted to prevent further damage.' As for the selection of a foreign forensic firm, he stated, 'We suggested several firms, the NIS suggested several, and we decided through discussion.' Harold Rogers (Coupang Inc. CAO) replied to a query about payment by saying, 'I'd have to check, but it seems either Coupang Inc. or Coupang Korea paid the forensic firm.'

Summary: NIS Director: "We never ordered that? We're suing Coupang for perjury." Coupang: "The NIS told us to do it lol. They said handle the data as we saw fit, so we did. Why you mad? You wanna start a diplomatic war with China?"