It comes after the ministry inspected some 105 Coupang logistics centers and delivery facilities and found rampant violations.
The ministry plans to take legal action over 61 cases including inadequate safety measures for conveyor belts, and to impose fines for the remaining violations, which include failures to conduct health checkups for night-shift workers and delays in reporting industrial accidents.
The ministry launched the inspection after allegations emerged that Coupang had attempted to cover up the death of logistics worker Jang Deok-jun, who died of an acute heart attack after an overnight shift in October 2020.
Inspectors reportedly found that Coupang founder and chairman Kim Bom-suk had given improper instructions to delete CCTV footage showing Jang working hard.
But Kim could not be indicted because the five-year statute of limitations expired in October last year, and there were no legal grounds to charge him with concealing an industrial accident.
The ministry vowed it will continue investigating other suspected cases of industrial accident cover-ups, including allegations that workers were pressured to withdraw compensation claims.
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