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Interim Coupang CEO Rogers undergoes 14-hour grilling over perjury allegations

Published: 06 Feb. 2026, 15:19 Updated: 08 Feb. 2026, 18:43

Harold Rogers, interim CEO of Coupang, arrives for a second round of police questioning at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Mapo District, western Seoul, on Feb. 6. [NEWS1]

Harold Rogers, the interim CEO of Coupang, left a police branch in western Seoul on Saturday after 14 hours of questioning over allegations that he gave false testimony at a National Assembly hearing.

After the questioning, he did not respond to reporters' questions regarding whether he admitted to the false testimony charges and whether the National Intelligence Service (NIS) had instructed him to contact a suspect in the personal data leak.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s anticorruption investigation unit summoned Rogers on Friday afternoon to question him as a suspect for allegedly violating the Act on Testimony and Appraisal Before the National Assembly.

Arriving at the investigation unit's headquarters in Mapo District, western Seoul, at 1:29 p.m., Rogers told reporters that Coupang would continue to fully cooperate with all government investigations and that he would also faithfully participate in the police investigation.

However, he did not respond when asked by a reporter whether Coupang lobbied the U.S. House of Representatives by claiming it was being discriminated against, and headed straight into the interrogation room.

Rogers's appearance marked his second summons following his first on Jan. 30. At the time, he emphasized his willingness to cooperate with the investigation. In an internal email sent to employees the previous day, he also urged staff to actively cooperate, including submitting materials, striking a notably restrained tone.

Police plan to examine whether Rogers's statements during a National Assembly hearing on Dec. 30 and 31 last year constituted perjury, and, if so, whether he was aware that they were false.

At the hearing, Rogers claimed that Coupang contacted and questioned a suspect in a personal data leak case and retrieved a laptop at the direction of the Korean government, specifically the NIS. The NIS has denied the claim, saying it “never issued any such instructions to Coupang.” The National Assembly’s Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee subsequently filed a complaint against Rogers and six current and former Coupang executives for perjury.

Harold Rogers, interim Coupang CEO, right, speaks at the National Assembly's Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee in western Seoul on Dec. 31, 2025. [LIM HYUN-DONG]

Rogers has already been investigated on suspicion of obstructing official duties, including allegedly destroying evidence by conducting a unilateral investigation into the data leak incident. He also faces allegations that he ordered reports that downplayed or evaded responsibility for an industrial accident involving a Coupang worker who died in 2020.

Rogers's latest summons comes amid growing backlash in some quarters in the United States over regulatory and investigative actions against Coupang.

In particular, Rogers has received a subpoena from the U.S. House Judiciary Committee ordering him to appear on Feb. 23 to testify about what it described as the Korean government’s “targeting” of U.S. companies.

In the subpoena, the committee criticized the Korean investigation into Rogers as a “threat of criminal punishment against a U.S. citizen.” A police official, however, said that the investigation is “in accordance with relevant procedures and regulations,” and that they are unaware of “other considerations.”

Updated, Feb. 8: Information on Rogers's completion of questioning and his interactions with reporters added.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY HAN YOUNG-HYE [[email protected]]