As the second-half national audit of the 22nd National Assembly has just begun, the practice of summoning retail industry owners or chief executive officers (CEOs) as witnesses appears to have cooled. Instead, executives directly involved in major current issues will appear as witnesses to answer questions from National Assembly members.
According to the retail industry on the 6th, a significant number of owners and CEOs of major retail companies were excluded from the witness list. Kim Beom-seok, Chairman of Coupang Inc Lee Sa-hoe (Chairman), who sparked controversy over whether he would appear during last year’s audit, was not included as a witness, and the request for Huh Seong-hong, CEO of GS Retail, to appear was also withdrawn. Kim Jae-gyeom, CEO of Lotte Home Shopping, will likewise not attend the national audit.
In response, industry observers assess that the atmosphere has shifted away from the past practice of prioritizing owners or CEOs as witnesses, focusing instead on selecting those directly responsible for current issues. However, major corporate issues have not been excluded from the audit. Related inquiries are expected to continue against executives associated with specific matters.
Key figures in the retail industry will appear as witnesses at this year’s national audit, which runs through the 27th, before committees including the Political Affairs Committee (hereinafter Political Affairs Committee), the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and SME Venture Committee (hereinafter Trade, Industry and Energy Committee), and the Science and ICT Korea Communications Commission (hereinafter Science and ICT Committee).
First, the Political Affairs Committee approved witnesses at its plenary session on the 1st, including Cho Ju-yeon, CEO of Homeplus, Joo Seong-won, Executive Vice President of Coupang, and Oh Jin-seok, Vice President of GS Retail. Jo (CEO) is expected to face questions regarding the Homeplus incident and mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Vice President Joo is anticipated to be pressed on controversies surrounding Fair Trade Commission on-site investigations related to the Large-Scale Retail Business Act and the Consumer Dispute Mediation Committee’s refusal of a collective dispute mediation decision. Vice President Oh is scheduled to answer questions about GS25’s supply methods, coexistence with franchisees, and the environment in the offline retail industry.
The Homeplus incident is also expected to be scrutinized by the Trade, Industry and Energy Committee. The committee had planned to summon Kim Byung-ju, Chairman of MBK Partners, to question him about emergency financial stabilization funds during Homeplus’s restructuring process and damages to tenant merchants, but Kim (Chairman) submitted a statement of reasons for non-appearance. Consequently, plans are being discussed to call Jo (CEO) instead.
Issues related to Coupang will also be addressed by the Science and ICT Committee and the Climate, Energy, Environment, Employment and Labor Committee. The Science and ICT Committee will summon Brett Mattis, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) of Coupang, as a witness to question him on follow-up improvement measures after the personal information leak incident.
Labor environment issues related to Coupang’s logistics subsidiaries, Coupang Fulfillment Services (CFS) and Coupang Logistics Services (CLS), are also expected to be addressed at the national audit of the Climate, Energy, Environment, Employment and Labor Committee. Accordingly, the possibility of relevant executives appearing during the comprehensive audit is also being mentioned.
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