Lee urges tougher penalties after Coupang breach
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has called for stronger penalties for companies that mishandle user data after a massive breach at e-commerce giant Coupang exposed information from 33 million customers — the country’s worst leak in over a decade.
Coupang is now facing a police probe, possible heavy fines, and a potential class-action lawsuit after failing to detect the breach for five months. Under current law, penalties can reach up to 3% of a company’s revenue, meaning Coupang could face more than 1 trillion won in fines, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Officials say a former engineer with privileged access is the prime suspect, having allegedly used a stolen encryption key to impersonate customers. Lawmakers are also pressuring Coupang’s founder Bom Kim to issue a personal apology.
The leaked data includes names, phone numbers, and home addresses. Coupang reported the incident to authorities only in November, despite the breach likely starting in June.
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