Police analyze suspect's laptop in Coupang data leak probe

A coupang delivery truck is parked at a parking lot in Seoul. Yonhap

Police investigating the massive data leak at e-commerce giant Coupang are now intensifying their efforts to analyze a suspect's laptop submitted by the company earlier this week, police officials said Friday.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's cyber investigation department is currently conducting a forensic examination of the contents of the laptop that Coupang voluntarily presented Sunday.

The police are trying to verify whether the laptop was actually used by the suspect, whether it was used in the crime and whether there was any data tampering in the voluntary submission process.

Coupang said Thursday it has identified a former employee as the suspect behind the data leak by using forensic evidence, adding that the individual confessed and provided a detailed account of how customer information was accessed.

The company also said it has recovered all leaked personal information involving approximately 3,000 customers, and no data has been transferred to anyone outside the company.

The police are reportedly reviewing whether there are any legal issues involving the company as it said it contacted the suspect on its own without police cooperation and arbitrarily recovered the laptop, a key piece of evidence, through an unusual method of mobilizing divers.