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Photo = Coupang |
[Alpha Biz= Cha Hye-young] Controversy surrounding Coupang’s retirement pay regulations has deepened amid criticism of the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s inadequate response.
Coupang has historically excluded periods in which employees worked fewer than 15 hours per week (based on a four-week average) from the calculation of continuous service for retirement pay. Under a recently revised rule, however, the company went further by resetting the continuous service period from the first day of each new contract.
According to media reports on the 1st, the ministry had sought legal opinions last year from eight major law firms, all of which concluded that Coupang’s revised rule was illegal under existing law.
The legal reviews stated that Coupang’s new system imposed arbitrary criteria less favorable to employees than those stipulated under the Retirement Pay Act, effectively excluding workers from eligibility. The reviews further noted that the rule was inconsistent with Supreme Court precedents and prior administrative interpretations.
Concerns were also raised that if continuous service were to reset each time employment was interrupted, companies could abuse the system by repeatedly hiring workers on short-term contracts to avoid paying retirement benefits.
Despite this, the ministry reportedly failed to share these findings with prosecutors or with the local labor office investigating Coupang’s case. Furthermore, it was revealed that the ministry itself had approved the problematic amendment to Coupang’s work rules, fueling calls for further investigation into its role.
The ministry explained:
“We did not disclose the legal opinions in order to avoid interfering with the ongoing investigation.”
Critics argue, however, that the ministry’s delayed response—combined with the prosecutors’ decision not to indict—could result in significant disadvantages for day laborers and contract workers.
Alphabiz 차혜영 기자(kay33@alphabiz.co.kr)
