Coupang Inc. board of directors (Photo: a screenshot of Coupang’s IR webpage)
SEOUL, Dec. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – With Alex Wong, a former Coupang executive, emerging as a key figure in the Trump administration’s North Korea policy, attention is turning to the multinational workforce at South Korea’s e-commerce giant, where foreign employees now exceed 1,000 and include more than 250 full-time interpreters and translators.
Foreign nationals make up approximately 10% of Coupang’s 10,000-strong workforce, excluding subsidiaries and logistics centers, the company confirmed on December 1.
This diverse workforce spans the company’s offices across more than ten cities globally, including Seoul and Pangyo in South Korea; Mountain View, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. in the United States; Beijing, Shenzhen, and Shanghai in China; Bangalore in India; Taipei in Taiwan; and Singapore.
Wong, recently appointed as Deputy National Security Advisor by President-elect Trump, served as head of public affairs at Coupang’s Washington, D.C. office from August 2021 until recently.
In this role, he managed government relations, explaining Korean investment and employment policies to the U.S. Commerce and State Departments while facilitating communication with the Korean government.
Alex Wong, recently appointed as Deputy National Security Advisor by President-elect Trump, served as head of public affairs at Coupang’s Washington, D.C. office from August 2021 until recently (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
The company’s international character extends to its leadership, with Chairman Bom Kim and CFO Gaurav Anand among the many foreign nationals in executive positions.
Kevin Warsh, a former Federal Reserve governor and potential Treasury Secretary nominee in the upcoming Trump administration, currently serves as an independent director at Coupang.
The company’s global reach is particularly evident in its technology operations. Hundreds of employees work in tech-related positions at Coupang’s Seattle and Mountain View offices in the U.S., while hundreds more staff the IT center in Bangalore, India’s tech hub.
The company currently operates its signature Rocket Delivery service only in South Korea and Taiwan, but maintains a significant international presence in IT and human resources.
In a notable move that sets it apart from other Korean companies, Coupang has significantly expanded its in-house translation team, increasing from 150 to over 250 full-time translators and interpreters since September of last year.
Unlike many corporations that typically hire contract or temporary translation staff, Coupang employs these language professionals as full-time employees.
“In a corporate culture with many foreign employees, the role of interpreters and translators is crucial,” a Coupang representative said. “They support seamless communication across various departments, from design and development to finance and accounting.”
Coupang’s multilingual meetings often involve participants from three or more nationalities, requiring simultaneous interpretation in Korean, English, Chinese, and other languages.
The company’s board of directors reflects this international outlook, with recent additions including Asha Sharma, an Indian-American AI expert with experience at Microsoft and Meta, who joined as an independent director in June.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
