[News Space=Reporter seungwon lee] Adidas Korea CEO Peter Kwak (Kwak Geun-yeop), who is suspected of abusing franchisees, was criticized by both ruling and opposition party lawmakers for his insincere attitude during the National Assembly’s State Affairs Committee’s state audit. In particular, CEO Peter Kwak, who spoke fluent Korean during last year’s state audit, brought an interpreter and gave answers in English this year, drawing criticism from both ruling and opposition party lawmakers.

At the National Assembly’s State Affairs Committee’s state audit of the Fair Trade Commission and other organizations on the 21st, CEO Kwak appeared as a witness for the second consecutive year on suspicion of violations of the Franchise Business Act and the Agency Act.

Previously, Adidas Korea caused controversy by unilaterally notifying franchisees of the termination of their franchise contracts while reorganizing its business in January 2022. Franchisees whose contracts were terminated formed the Adidas National Store Owners Association and complained about Adidas Korea’s bullying, such as the revocation of online sales rights and excessive compensation obligations.

When the first question, Shin Jang-sik, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, took about a minute to be interpreted, Rep. Shin expressed his anger by saying, “A person who could speak Korean last year can’t this year,” and “What the hell is he doing? What a show!”

Kim Jeong-jung, chairman of the Adidas National Store Owners Association, who also appeared as a reference, said, "(CEO Kwak) gave us a presentation in Korean during the strategy presentation," and "(CEO Kwak) has never used English in a meeting, but today is the first time I've seen him use it." In July, CEO Kwak personally held the microphone and communicated without an interpreter at an event that Adidas invited Son Heung-min to.

In response, Representative Kwak said, "Last year during the inspection, I was unable to give a proper answer and there were parts where I was unable to say what I wanted to say," and "Most importantly, because of my poor Korean, there is a risk of perjury, so in order to avoid serious problems, I would like to speak through an interpreter this year," he answered through an interpreter.

Representative Kwak was also criticized during the audit for his attitude.

Yoo Young-ha, a People Power Party lawmaker, said, “(Representative Kwak) is putting his hands in his pockets,” and argued, “I don’t know how different Canada (where Representative Kwak is from) and our culture are, but I don’t think anyone would appear as a witness in the Canadian National Assembly with their hands in their pockets and acting like that.”

Kang Min-guk, a member of the same party, also criticized him, saying, "You have a master's degree from Yonsei University, right? Did you bring an interpreter with you back then?" In response, Kwak replied in Korean, "You have a master's degree from the Graduate School of International Studies. The class was conducted in English." Kang criticized him, saying, "See? You speak Korean well. Then I will speak in English. The problem is your attitude."

Rep. Kang said, "Even though (Representative Kwak) is fully capable of communicating (in Korean), I cannot help but have strong suspicions that he is trying to undermine the state audit," adding, "I think that a special investigation by the Fair Trade Commission is necessary, including charges of insulting the National Assembly or giving false testimony to the National Assembly."

Kang Jun-hyun, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, also said, “I have also thought about why we would bother to use an interpreter and do this,” and added, “As Representative Kang Min-guk said, the floor leaders of the ruling and opposition parties will actively review it.”

Rep. Yoon Han-hong of the People Power Party, who is the chairman of the Political Affairs Committee, said, “The Fair Trade Commission should take special care of this and conduct an investigation,” and diagnosed, “It seems that measures should be taken in a short period of time through a special investigation.”

In response, Fair Trade Commission Chairman Han Ki-jung said, “I will look into it carefully.”