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Coupang faces class-action lawsuits in US
A Coupang employee pulls a cart loaded with Rocket Fresh bags next to a company delivery truck in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap
By Ko Dong-hwan
Data breach hits Coupang’s NYSE stock
Coupang, the nation’s largest e-commerce platform operator, is facing class action lawsuits in the United States following a data breach that compromised the personal information of 33.7 million customers.
The litigation follows Coupang Inc.’s recent share-price plunge on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), triggered by a widespread backlash and anger over the massive data leak. Coupang Inc. is the parent company of Coupang’s Korean operation, Coupang Corp., which accounts for about 90 percent of the U.S. company’s total sales.
SJKP, the U.S. branch of Daeryun Law Firm, said during a press conference in Manhattan on Sunday (local time) that it will announce plans to file a lawsuit in a U.S. court in Seattle seeking punitive damages against Coupang Inc.
The lawsuit follows revelations on Nov. 29 that nearly all Coupang customers in Korea had their names, email addresses, phone numbers, delivery information and purchase histories stolen by a former Coupang employee who had access to the company’s database.
Daeryun said litigation will proceed simultaneously in Korea and the United States. The firm added that it has already secured plaintiffs in the U.S. and is continuing to recruit additional participants for the lawsuit.
On Friday, Daeryun said it had filed a complaint with Songpa Police Station against Coupang Corp. CEO Park Dae-jun for breach of duty and for violating Korea's Personal Information Protection Act.
DJS Law Group, a New York-based firm, has also begun recruiting local plaintiffs for a class-action lawsuit against Coupang Inc. seeking punitive damages. The firm noted that Coupang Inc.’s share price fell by more than 5 percent after Korean police and the Personal Information Protection Commission, the country’s data watchdog, launched investigations into Coupang Corp.
Coupang Inc.’s share price on the NYSE closed at $27.11 on Friday, down about 20 percent from its 52-week peak of $34.08. On Dec. 1, the first trading day after media coverage of the breach emerged, the stock closed down 5.36 percent.
Coupang Inc. did not file a disclosure with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding the data leak. Under SEC regulations, companies listed on the NYSE are required to report material cybersecurity breaches within four business days of determining the incident's materiality.
Litigation against Coupang is already underway in Korea. As of Monday, two law firms have filed lawsuits with local courts, while five others have announced plans to recruit plaintiffs for legal action against the company.