Park Jae-hyuk is a seasoned journalist who has provided comprehensive coverage of South Korea's corporate dynamics, economic policies, industry challenges and the global positioning of Korean companies. Based on the articles he has written since joining The Korea Times in 2016, his investigative approach has helped readers understand corporate governance, economic trends and business strategies shaping South Korea’s economy.
Musinsa ridicules Coupang's 'stingy' compensation
Musinsa's ad for vouchers worth a total of 50,000 won ($35) / Captured from Musinsa's website
By Park Jae-hyuk
Rivals ramp up efforts to benefit from data breach fallout
Musinsa has joined the public ridicule of Coupang’s plan to compensate users affected by last November’s data breach with 50,000 won ($35) vouchers that can only be used on Coupang’s services, by handing out 50,000 won vouchers to all of its own users “for no particular reason.”
The fashion platform began handing out 50,000 won vouchers to all its users on Thursday, using Coupang’s brand colors — red, orange, green and blue — in an ad for its New Year’s event.
Each Musinsa user can receive two 20,000 won vouchers that can be used on Musinsa Store, its main shopping platform, and Musinsa Shoes and Player, which covers sportswear and footwear, as well as two 5,000 won vouchers that can be used on Musinsa Beauty for cosmetics and Musinsa Used for secondhand items.
Coupang, where 33.7 million users' data was exposed in a massive breach, has invited criticisms with its plan to compensate customers with two 20,000 won vouchers that can be used on its less popular platforms — flight and hotel booking service Coupang Travel and luxury shopping platform R.LUX. For its main shopping app and Coupang Eats food delivery service, the company will only offer two 5,000 won vouchers.
While unveiling the plan, Coupang CEO Harold Rogers said at a recent National Assembly hearing that the compensation was “unprecedented,” a remark inflamed public sentiment and angered lawmakers and regulators.
Musinsa’s unusual marketing campaign seems to be a response to Coupang’s yearslong efforts to curb the fashion platform’s growth.
Coupang had sought to ban two of its former executives from joining Musinsa, before withdrawing lawsuits against them last December as focus turned to the data breach fallout.
In 2023, SNL Korea, streamed on Coupang Play, mocked Musinsa just as Coupang was pushing to sell more fashion items on its platforms. At the time, the show’s producers said the sketch was not intended to disparage Musinsa.
“We do not deny that our voucher giveaway is meant as a jab at Coupang,” a Musinsa official said.
Buoyed by expectations that Coupang’s intensifying feud with the government could hurt the company’s standing in the Korean market, other rivals are also aggressively promoting their services as potential alternatives to Coupang.
SSG.COM and 11st have been trying to lure Coupang users by highlighting their own quick delivery services. Lotte Global Logistics began offering parcel deliveries every day of the week this year, following CJ and Hanjin, which already operate on Sundays and national holidays.
“The Coupang case will prompt the Korean government to reduce reliance on Coupang in retail and logistics sectors,” KB Securities analyst Kang Sung-jin said. “That will create new opportunities for other e-commerce and logistics firms that have been struggling.”
IBK Securities analyst Nam Sung-hyun also said Coupang’s competitors could gain market share, given the growing partnerships between e-commerce and logistics companies.
“Coupang seems to be misreading the situation,” he said, attributing the company’s complacent attitude to a misplaced belief that the government would avoid suspending operations over concerns about job and delivery disruptions.