Customer backlash intensifies over Coupang data breach

A Coupang logistics center in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap

Kang Ji-eun, 38, an office worker in Seoul, is absolutely furious over the Coupang data breach.

“This is not some small operational glitch, but an institutional failure affecting customers’ personal life,” Kang said. “Coupang just let it happen? The fact that they’re saying ‘payment information is safe’ is far from reassuring. If that information is safe, why didn’t they have something to protect against the data breach? It makes no sense. I just don’t trust the platform anymore.”

She also said Coupang should offer real, substantial compensation. “I don’t want excuses or apologies or meaningless promises. I want to see them take responsibility. Concrete responsibility.”

What makes Kang even more frustrated is that she still has to use the overnight delivery services. “My elementary school children need school supplies and I sometimes need household goods too. I’m seriously thinking about finding another platform that can meet my needs. I will watch how Coupang responds closely.”

Lee Min-soo, 35, said he is angry because Coupang deliberately downplayed the whole issue.

“I mean, considering the timeline, they were not telling the truth at first. Didn’t they say only a few thousand accounts were affected? But then suddenly it’s more than 33 million. Were they lying? Or were they that clueless? Either way, it’s unacceptable.”

Coupang should provide customers with real compensation, not some refunds or empty apologies, he said. “I want them to acknowledge that people are angry. I won’t even mention the voice phishing scam possibilities. They need to actually pay for the anxiety they caused. Otherwise, they will lose customers.”

These two are among the many customers expressing similar sentiments. Coupang, Korea’s largest e-commerce platform, has been besieged by mounting public anger after confirming that more than 33.7 million customers had their information compromised in a massive data breach.

Many users deleted or changed their payment methods, or even canceled subscriptions, questioning the platform’s crisis response measures.

Kim Yoon-sun, 42, said she canceled her WOW membership, Coupang’s paid monthly subscription.

“They say my payment information is safe, but I can’t trust that. I am worried my financial information stored in my cell phone could be compromised, including my stock accounts and bank accounts,” she said.

The quick decision was made to prevent any financial scam possibilities, since she is sick of receiving phone calls that she knows are voice phishing attempts.

“Calls from unknown numbers were about issuing a new credit card, or upgrading membership that I didn’t ask for. They always asked me for personal information. I have had it. I know what voice phishing sounds like now. And compromised Coupang data will lead to more calls like that. I’m not having them,” Kim said.

Coupang said Sunday that the compromised data included names, phone numbers, delivery addresses, email addresses and recent order histories.

It stressed that credit card information, payment data and login information remained unaffected.

However, the backlash intensified when Coupang revised the figure of affected customers to well over 33 million on Nov. 29, nine days after it initially said only 4,500 accounts had been impacted.