Coupang founder apologizes, seeks exit strategy from conflict with gov't

Members of the National Courier Resister Workers Union and Committee for the Prevention of Overwork Deaths of Courier Workers protest in front of Coupang Korea's office in Seoul's Songpa District, Feb. 1, demanding punishment for Coupang founder Bom Kim over not improving workplace conditions for delivery workers. Yonhap

Ongoing tension between Korea and Coupang over the U.S.-based e-commerce company's data leak incident, which has emerged as a major trade issue between Korea and the U.S., saw notable progress on Friday when Coupang founder Bom Kim made his first in-person apology over the incident.

In a seminar in Washington, former American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM) President Tami Overby advised Kim to visit Seoul and apologize to the public over the case, in which personal information of 33.67 million customers was compromised.

“First, I want to apologize again for the concern and inconvenience the data incident has caused," Kim said in a conference call for Coupang investors in the U.S. Thursday (local time). "Everything we’ve built at Coupang has been driven by a single focus — wowing our customers. Our customers are the only reason we exist, and earning their trust is something we strive to do every single day.”

It was his first in-person apology, although he had issued a written apology last December, about a month after the data breach was made public.

Harold Rogers, Coupang Korea's chief administrative officer and interim CEO who was grilled at the National Assembly and by police in Seoul over the incident, said the company will continue to cooperate with the Korean government in its investigation of the leak.

“We’ve shared the details and findings with the Korean government during the course of its investigations, and we look forward to continuing to work with them to address the incident comprehensively and to resolve any misunderstandings that may exist …We are committed to continue cooperating fully with the government’s investigations,” he said during the conference call.

Rogers also said the incident was “not caused by a systemic failure of security measures, but was the result of a targeted attack, executed by a malicious former employee.”

Former American Chamber of Commerce in Korea President Tami Overby, left, speaks during a seminar hosted by the National Bureau of Asian Research in Washington, Thursday (local time). Yonhap

Kim’s apology came more than three months after the incident was disclosed and after Korean lawmakers condemned him for remaining silent over the nation's largest personal data breach case. The e-commerce firm had distributed vouchers worth 50,000 won ($34.79) to affected customers, but this only aroused public ire for trying to raise its sales under the guise of restitution.

During the conference call, Coupang Inc. announced its fourth-quarter sales from last year reached $8.8 billion, up 15.3 percent from a year before. But they dropped 5 percent from the previous quarter, and it was the first time since 2021 that the company's quarterly sales have declined quarter-on-quarter. The company also posted an operating profit of $8 million in the fourth quarter, a 97 percent plunge from a year before.

The company cited the data leak's impact on demand as the reason.

While the Korean government and the public have criticized the country's largest e-commerce platform for what they see as an insufficient apology and inadequate countermeasures, the issue has brought criticism from some American politicians and government officials who see unfair treatment of the U.S.-based firm. Concerns have risen that the Donald Trump administration could use these claims to justify additional tariff increases on Korea.

Against this backdrop, Overby, participating in the seminar hosted by Washington think tank National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR), said Kim should go to Korea and face the public “just like how SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong did when their enterprises’ blunders had hurt sentiment of Koreans.”

She said Korea needs Coupang and Coupang needs Korea, pointing out the fact that nearly three quarters of Koreans are customers of the company and that about 90 percent of its sales are in Korea, despite the fact it is headquartered in the U.S.

As to the Korean government, she criticized it for launching 11 investigations in Coupang. She pointed out only two of them were related to data and cybersecurity and the rest were about labor, tariffs and taxation, calling them discriminatory and unnecessary.

Overby, currently a DGA Group Government Relations partner, said Coupang wields influence over U.S. firms and politicians by connecting the firms to 51 million consumers in Korea. She added that Kim, using the company’s market presence in both countries, should strive to introduce stronger measures against data leak risks by working with cybersecurity experts in both countries.

Crowell Global Advisors Director Nigel Cory who attended the seminar said politicians in both countries have turned the Coupang issue to a larger problem. He added the currently developing Online Platform Act in Korea, which is to monitor e-commerce giants’ market dominance and relations with local suppliers, raised concerns among U.S. firms that their playing field in Korea would be unfairly leveled. He said the Korean government, to draw “good faith” from the U.S. companies and government, should persuade them with regulatory adjustments.