Coupang, HUFS to partner for industry-academic cooperation

Coupang Inc., South Korea’s No. 1 e-commerce platform, announced on Monday that it signed an industry-academia cooperation agreement (MOU) last Friday with the Graduate School of Translation and Interpretation, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS), to secure excellent talent in translation and interpretation.

Currently, Coupang employs about 250 translators and interpreters as full-time staff.

With the latest agreement, Coupang and HUFS will develop various programs to nurture and secure professional translation and interpretation personnel, including on-campus recruitment briefings, special lectures, and internships.

This is the first time Coupang, which hires full-time translators and interpreters annually, has signed such an agreement.

Those hired as translators and interpreters at Coupang will handle simultaneous interpretation and translation for meetings involving multinational employees from North America, Europe, and Asia.

Coupang added that it assigns tasks in consideration of the experience and background of the translators and interpreters.

It may also gain experience in various business areas, such as distribution and logistics, as well as artificial intelligence (AI) and over-the-top (OTT) video services.

Write to Jae-Kwang Ahn at ahnjk@hankyung.com