With the Coupang Logistics Center fire as an opportunity, criticism of Coupang's working environment and founders is growing.



There are also signs of a boycott in the Internet community, with posts saying that they had left Coupang and deleted the Coupang app.



On Twitter, 'withdrawal from Coupang' is emerging as a real-time trend, and some customers are uploading images confirming their withdrawal.




The disappointment of consumers, who had been accumulating while looking at the various problems surrounding Coupang, is erupting with the fire of this logistics center.



Coupang has grown rapidly as a representative e-commerce company in Korea with fast delivery, and based on these results, it was successfully listed on the New York Stock Exchange in March of this year.




However, there were constant criticisms about the company's management method, especially the poor working environment of the logistics center.



Because of the emphasis on 'fast delivery', the issue of forcing inhuman labor on logistics center workers has been raised.



Deok-Jun Jang, who worked at the Coupang Logistics Center in Chilgok, Gyeongbuk for a year and four months, collapsed and died at home on October 12 last year after returning home from work late at night.



The Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service recognized that Jang's death in February this year was work-related and recognized it as an industrial accident, but Jang's bereaved family criticizes the company for not even making a sincere apology.



Coupang protested by blaming external factors as the cause when the health authorities at the time pointed out that quarantine guidelines such as wearing a mask, ventilation, and disinfection were not properly followed when a mass infection of COVID-19 occurred at a logistics center last year.



In this situation, when the fire at the logistics center occurred, the anger of consumers is growing.



Although the logistics center workers raised the fire risk several times, the perception that the company responded complacely and eventually led to a disaster is spreading.



The Coupang Logistics Center branch of the National Logistics Center branch of the Public Transport Workers' Union criticized, "Coupang's negligent attitude toward fire and worker safety was clearly revealed in the accident process."



Here, the fact that founder Kim Beom-seok recently stepped down from all positions at Coupang in Korea is known, and critics are calling it a 'trick' to avoid responsibility under the Serious Disaster Punishment Act.



Founder Kim Beom-seok is able to avoid punishment under the Serious Accident Punishment Act as he has no position in Coupang, Korea, even if a worker's death occurs due to an industrial accident.



Founder Kim Bum-seok previously avoided designating the head of a group of companies subject to disclosure (the same person) by claiming that he is a US citizen in May.



Founder Kim Beom-seok owns 76.7% of the voting rights of Coupang Inc., a US-listed corporation that owns 100% of Coupang in Korea.



On the other hand, Coupang issued a statement of condolences in the name of all employees after the news that the body of rescue chief Kim Dong-sik, who was isolated at the scene of the fire, was found today.



The day before, Coupang apologized for the fire in the name of CEO Kang Seung-seung.



(Photo = Yonhap News)