Coupang claims perpetrator saved data of some 3,000 customers in SEC filing despite criticism

Harold Rogers, right, interim chief of e-commerce giant Coupang, speaks during a plenary session of the National Assembly in Seoul, Tuesday, to inspect the online retailer over its massive data leak that affected nearly two-thirds of Korea's population. Yonhap

E-commerce giant Coupang has claimed the perpetrator in a massive data leak incident saved limited information from about 3,000 customer accounts in a filing to the U.S. securities watchdog, despite criticism in Korea of the U.S.-listed firm's internal investigation results.

The filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday came after Coupang made the same claim in last week's announcement on the outcome of its own probe, which was only met with a reaffirmation by Seoul's Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon that the data leak affected more than 33 million customers in Korea.

"The investigation to date indicates that while approximately 33 million accounts were accessed, the perpetrator only saved limited data from approximately 3,000 customer accounts, and such customer data has been deleted without having been shared with a third party," Coupang said in the SEC filing.

Unverified by the Korean investigation authorities, Coupang's own assessment has drawn criticism about a "self-investigation" into the incident that damaged public trust in the online platform, on which Korean customers have relied to purchase daily necessities and other goods.

Touching on the ongoing investigation into the incident in the filing, the company pointed out that "actual results and outcomes" could differ materially for various reasons, including the potential discovery of additional information.

During a parliamentary session Tuesday (local time), Science Minister Bae expressed "serious concern" over Coupang's unilateral release of the investigation results, raising suspicion that there appeared to be a "malicious intent" behind it.

In the filing, Coupang also noted that it announced a customer compensation program to issue about 1.69 trillion won ($1.2 billion) worth of vouchers, starting Jan. 15, to customers who were notified of the incident.

The latest filing came as Coupang is striving to minimize damage from the cybersecurity incident at a time when a growing number of those affected by the incident seek a class action suit, with many customers considering canceling their paid membership.