SEOUL– South Korea’s science minister said Tuesday that a recent data breach at e-commerce giant Coupang affected more than 33 million customers, disputing the company’s claim that only a small number of accounts were compromised.
Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon told lawmakers that a joint investigation involving government agencies and the police found that the names and email addresses of more than 33 million users had been leaked.
“The joint government and private-sector investigation revealed that personal information belonging to over 33 million users was exposed,” Bae said during a parliamentary session.
His remarks followed a statement released by Coupang last week asserting that data from only about 3,000 user accounts had actually been downloaded by the suspect and later deleted.
“We cannot agree with that claim,” Bae said, adding that other personal details, including user addresses and order histories, are also believed to have been compromised.
The minister expressed serious concern over Coupang’s handling of the matter, saying the company issued public statements that were not coordinated with the government.
Coupang, which is listed in the United States, has announced a compensation package valued at more than 1.68 trillion won, or about $1.17 billion, in response to the breach.
The compensation plan was unveiled a day after company founder Kim Bom-suk issued his first public apology since the incident, which is believed to have affected nearly two-thirds of South Korea’s population.
Under the plan, Coupang will provide 50,000 won worth of discounts and coupons to each of 33.7 million customers. The offer applies to paid Coupang Wow members, regular users and former customers who have closed their accounts. Compensation is scheduled to be distributed gradually starting Jan. 15.
In a statement, interim Chief Executive Officer Harold Rogers said the company would use the incident as a turning point to reinforce customer-focused principles and restore trust.
The compensation package includes vouchers worth 5,000 won for Coupang’s main e-commerce platform, 5,000 won for its food delivery service, Coupang Eats, 20,000 won for travel-related products and 20,000 won for luxury beauty and fashion items sold through R.LUX.
Coupang said last week that it had identified a former employee as the source of the data leak through forensic analysis, recovered the equipment used and obtained a confession from the suspect. The company maintains that data from only about 3,000 accounts was saved and later deleted.
The government has rejected that assessment as a unilateral claim, noting that the joint public-private investigation into the breach has not yet issued its final conclusions. (Source: IANS)
