Coupang Data Breach Exposes 33.7 Million Customer Accounts in South Korea

South Korea's largest online retailer, Coupang, has issued a public apology after a significant data breach compromised the personal information of 33.7 million customer accounts. The company disclosed that the exposed data includes names, email addresses, phone numbers, shipping addresses, and certain order histories, but emphasized that payment details and login credentials were not affected.

Coupang detected the incident on November 18 and reported it to authorities, with investigations revealing that unauthorized access began on June 24 through overseas servers. The company has since blocked the access route and strengthened its monitoring systems. CEO Park Dae-jun expressed sincere regret, stating, "We sincerely apologise once again for causing our customers inconvenience."

Initial assessments indicated only 4,500 accounts were impacted, but later checks uncovered the full scale, affecting nearly two-thirds of South Korea's population. The South Korean government's Science and ICT Ministry held an emergency meeting and is examining whether Coupang violated personal information protection rules. The Korea Internet & Security Agency has warned users to be vigilant against potential phishing scams and fraud attempts using the leaked data.

Police are investigating after Coupang filed a complaint on November 25, with the suspect listed as an unidentified individual. Reports from Yonhap News Agency suggest a former Chinese employee may be involved, though the individual has left the country. The breach has prompted discussions of a class-action lawsuit by affected customers and highlights a series of recent data security issues in South Korea, including incidents at SK Telecom and Lotte Card.