Coupang's interim chief questioned for 12 hours over data breach probe

The interim CEO of Coupang underwent 12 hours of intensive police questioning over allegations of destruction of evidence linked to a massive data breach at the e-commerce company.

Harold Rogers emerged from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on Saturday at 2:22 am, declining to answer reporters' questions on whether he admitted to the charges or intended to leave the country, reports Yonhap news agency.

Rogers faces accusations of obstructing official investigations into the breach estimated to have affected nearly 33 million users. Coupang had independently announced that data from only 3,000 accounts was leaked, a figure authorities dispute.

Police, who suspect more than 30 million accounts were affected, are investigating the reliability of Coupang's internal probe. The government has criticised the company's findings as one-sided.

Investigators focused on the company's handling of a laptop allegedly used in the hacking. Coupang recovered the device in China last month from a former employee responsible for the breach and submitted it to police.

However, the company reportedly failed to disclose that it had already conducted its own forensic analysis on the computer. Police questioned Rogers regarding the motives behind the company's undisclosed contact with the suspect and its handling of the evidence.

"Coupang has fully and will continue to fully cooperate with all of the government investigations that are looking into us. We will also fully cooperate with the police investigation today," Rogers said upon arriving at the agency on Friday.

Rogers, who defied two previous police summonses, had left South Korea on Jan. 1, a day after attending a two-day parliamentary hearing into the retail giant's leak, before returning to the country last week.

While there is speculation he may exit the country immediately following the questioning, police are reportedly considering calling him in for further interrogation.

He also faces allegations of perjury regarding his parliamentary testimony, where he claimed the internal probe was conducted at the instruction of the National Intelligence Service (NIS). The NIS has denied the claim.

Separately, he is accused of ordering a report to shield the company from liability after a logistics centre worker's death in 2020.