South Korea Vows ‘All Available Legal Measures’ Against Coupang After Massive Data Leak

• Last week, Coupang said that the leak perpetrator, a former employee, accessed 33.7 million accounts, but only retained user data from approximately 3,000 accounts.
• The South Korea government dismissed Coupang’s investigation findings as a "unilateral" conclusion of a still ongoing investigation.
• The head of South Korea's Fair Trade Commission also told Yonhap that it could consider temporarily suspending the business operations of Coupang.

The South Korean government on Wednesday reportedly pledged to take "all available legal measures" against Coupang Inc (CPNG) over its recent data leak.

Yonhap News Agency reported on Wednesday that the government slammed the online retail company’s lukewarm response in addressing the issue during a parliamentary hearing.

"The company's lukewarm and passive attitude in explaining the situation during the parliamentary hearing, and its attempts to underestimate the damage and dodge responsibility, are further fueling public concern and distrust," the government reportedly said in a statement while adding that it will review all available legal measures.

The Leak

Coupang said it detected unauthorized access to customer data on Nov. 18 and reported it to authorities, initially estimating about 4,500 affected accounts. Further review later showed that the incident may have exposed personal information tied to as many as 33.7 million customers, including names, phone numbers, email addresses, shipping details and some order history.

However, last week, the company said that the leak perpetrator, a former employee, accessed 33.7 million accounts, but only retained user data from approximately 3,000 accounts. The perpetrator also subsequently deleted the user data, the company said after an investigation that it claimed was conducted in close coordination with the government.

Government Is Not Convinced

Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon on Wednesday reportedly slammed the company’s probe findings. "While they claim that information from 3,000 accounts was deleted, the data can still be stored somewhere. If it is kept on a cloud platform, it is even harder to trace," Bae said, as reported by Yonhap. The government also rejected Coupang’s investigation findings as a "unilateral" conclusion of a still ongoing investigation.

“Coupang should have disclosed fact-based investigation findings or plans for compensation. We urge the company to faithfully fulfill its role as the subject of the investigation," Bae said while adding that the government intends to impose punitive measures if the probe uncovers any problems.

The head of South Korea's Fair Trade Commission also told Yonhap that it could consider temporarily suspending the business operations of Coupang.

How Did Stocktwits Users React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around CPNG stayed within the ‘bullish’ territory over the past 24 hours, while message volume stayed at ‘extremely high’ levels.

A Stocktwits user termed Coupang’s situation as “serious” and urged others to take their money “away from Coupang.” “They may fall big time in short term and may be wiped out in longer term,” the user wrote.

Another noted that the company seems to be in “big trouble.”

CPNG stock has gained 10% this year. 

Read also: Khosla Ventures Partner Sees Robotics Have A ‘GPT-3 Moment’ In 2026; Warns Of Anti-AI Protests From White-Collar Employees

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