Coupang offers compensation to 33.7 million users over data breach

YonhapSEOUL, December 29 (AJP) - Coupang will compensate its users over a massive data breach, the e-commerce giant said on Monday.

Starting mid-January, the U.S.-listed company will distribute 1.68 trillion Korean won (US$1.17 billion) in compensation, providing 50,000 won in purchase vouchers per person to paid Wow subscribers, regular users, and former customers who have closed their accounts.

The compensation plan comes a day after Coupang founder Kim Bom-suk issued his first public apology since the incident, which was revealed on Nov. 18 and involved the leak of sensitive personal information of around 33.7 million customers.

The voucher package, set to be distributed on Jan. 15, includes 5,000 won each for Coupang's main shopping platform and its food delivery service Coupang Eats, as well as 20,000 won for travel products and an additional 20,000 won for affiliated luxury beauty and fashion items.

Those eligible for compensation will be notified via text message.

The U.S.-based founder apologized the previous day for his belated response, saying he initially believed it was best to "communicate only after all the facts were confirmed."

"In retrospect, this was a poor judgment. While Coupang worked tirelessly to resolve the situation, I should have expressed my deepest regrets and sincere apologies from the beginning. My heart has been heavy ever since I first learned of the data breach," Kim said.

The compensation package appears aimed at appeasing customers amid an exodus of subscribers from the platform. However, public outrage continues, as the package is seen as insufficient and non-substantive. Moreover, Kim has repeatedly failed to appear for questioning, while only the company's nominal and interim CEO attended a parliamentary hearing on Dec. 17 and offered vague and evasive answers.

Interim CEO Harold Rogers, who replaced former CEO Park Dae-jun following his resignation over the breach earlier this month, said the compensation is a "responsible measure for our customers" and pledged that the company would "fulfill its responsibilities to the end" in a statement. "I once again deeply apologize to our customers," he added.

Meanwhile, Coupang said it had traced a former employee responsible for the data leak and recovered the equipment used in the hacking.
Lee Hugh