He’s also the CEO of an affiliated company.
1 hour ago
According a to report by Dispatch, the husband of Kim Seul Ah, the CEO of the major e-commerce platform “Kurly,” has been indicted without detention for allegedly sexually assaulting a female employee.
Kim Seul Ah | Nate News
The report stated that the incident occurred in June 2025, during a company dinner at a restaurant in Seongdong-gu, Seoul. Jung, the CEO of Next Kitchen and the husband of CEO Kim, allegedly moved his seat next to a female employee, “A,” and repeatedly engaged in unwanted physical contact. Jung reportedly touched her arms, shoulders, back, and waist while whispering inappropriate remarks into her ear.
Jung, CEO of Next Kitchen
This behavior continued, despite the A’s visible discomfort. Jung allegedly used her probationary evaluation as leverage, implying that her appointment as a full-time worker was completely in his hands. According to the messages exchanged between the victim and a colleague during the company dinner, multiple witnesses had noticed Jung’s behavior and were disturbed by it.
Employee B: No, but why was he whispering like that? Ugh, disgusting.
Victim A: I wasn’t the only one feeling that way, right? He even held my hand while pretending to do a handshake. I’m going crazy.
Employee B: Seriously, why is he acting like that? Tell him to go home. F*cking pervert. He’s seriously disgusting.
Victim A: His drinking habits are really bad. I came to the bathroom on purpose.
The victim recalled the incident as a “100-minute nightmare,” explaining that she felt she had to shut her mouth or risk her job. After the incident became an internal issue, Jung reportedly called the victim into a meeting room and apologized. However, he later tried to downplay the whole thing, blaming it on alcohol and his “Westernized” outlook toward physical contact. The victim claimed that the company didn’t conduct an internal investigation or take any disciplinary action. She continued working despite her distress and was eventually diagnosed with moderate depression and PTSD. She ultimately quit the job.
The victim later filed a criminal complaint against Jung. Prosecutors acknowledged the validity of the forced indecency charges and indicted Jung non-custodially on December 31. His legal representative has confirmed the indictment to Dispatch.
While Next Kitchen has issued multiple public statements expressing sympathy with the victim and apologizing for the situation, Kurly, which has a 46.41% stake in the company, has yet to address the issue. Dispatch also revealed that CEO Kim Seul Ah chose to ignore the victim’s formal notice. This case has reignited the conversation around worker safety, handling of sexual harassment allegations, and the accountability of executives in corporates in Korea.