Why is Coupang suing over the 624.7 billion won data breach fine?

Coupang filed two separate suits seeking to nullify the Personal Information Protection Commission’s penalties. The lawsuits challenge fines imposed for the data breach, unauthorized collection of online user activity records and other privacy violations.

How many people were affected by Coupang’s data breach and what information was accessed?

A hacker accessed personal information belonging to about 37.5 million users, including 33.2 million Coupang members and 4.3 million others. The information included names, phone numbers and delivery details.

How did Coupang’s data leak create tensions between South Korea and the United States?

The incident became a source of friction after some U.S. officials and lawmakers raised concerns about whether Coupang’s Korean unit was treated unfairly during the investigation. Coupang Inc. is listed in the United States, while the affected operations are in Korea.

Coupang files lawsuits against 620 bil. won fine over data leak

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Summary

Coupang Corp. filed two lawsuits with the Seoul Administrative Court seeking to nullify record fines imposed by the Personal Information Protection Commission over a massive data leak. The regulator imposed 624.7 billion won in penalties after determining that about 37.5 million users’ personal information had been accessed. The fines include 423.6 billion won for the breach and 201.1 billion won for unauthorized collection of online activity records and other violations.

Key Facts

The affected users included 33.2 million Coupang members and 4.3 million other individuals.
The breach exposed personal information including users’ names, phone numbers and delivery details.
Coupang reported about 36 trillion won in average annual sales over the past three years.
Companies can be fined up to 3 percent of annual sales for personal information leaks, excluding sales from unrelated businesses.
The data leak became a source of friction between Seoul and Washington after some U.S. officials and lawmakers questioned whether Coupang’s Korean unit was treated unfairly.

By Yonhap

Published Oct 8, 2026 8:29 pm KST

A Coupang delivery truck sits outside a logistics center as a worker moves a cart past pallets of packages, in February 2024. Yonhap

E-commerce firm Coupang Corp. has filed lawsuits against 620 billion won ($462 million) in fines levied by a state-run data protection agency over its massive data leak, sources said Thursday.

According to the sources, Coupang has filed two separate suits with the Seoul Administrative Court seeking to nullify the fines imposed by the Personal Information Protection Commission in June this year.

The Commission fined Coupang a record 624.7 billion won over privacy violations, including a massive data breach that affected more than 37 million users.

The amount breaks down to a record fine of 423.6 billion won for the data breach and levies an additional 201.1 billion-won fine for the unauthorized collection of records of online user activities and other violations.

It marked the largest fine ever imposed by the regulator on a single company, according to the commission.

The punitive measures came more than six months after Coupang belatedly reported a large-scale data breach last November of personal information of users in Korea, including their names, phone numbers and delivery details.

The regulator concluded that a hacker behind the breach accessed personal information of about 37.5 million users — 33.2 million Coupang members and 4.3 million others.

Under the personal information protection law, companies that suffer personal information leaks can be fined up to 3 percent of their annual sales, although sales from businesses unrelated to the violation can be excluded.

Coupang logged about 36 trillion won in annual sales on average in the past three years.

The e-commerce company's massive data leak had also emerged as a source of friction between Seoul and Washington after some U.S. officials and lawmakers raised concerns about whether the Korean unit of the U.S.-listed Coupang Inc. was being treated unfairly in the investigation.

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