Key Points
- South Korean retail giant Coupang suffered a data breach affecting 33.7 million accounts.
- Stolen data includes names, email addresses, phone numbers, and addresses, but not payment information.
- The South Korean government is investigating Coupang for possible safety violations. A former employee is reportedly suspected of being behind the hack.
- Authorities are warning affected customers to watch out for phishing scams.
Coupang, South Korea’s biggest online retailer, issued a public apology on Sunday after a huge data breach exposed the personal information of 33.7 million customer accounts. The company, often called the “Amazon of South Korea,” is now under government investigation.
“We sincerely apologise once again for causing our customers inconvenience,” CEO Park Dae-jun said in a statement. The breach is the latest in a string of major data leaks to hit large South Korean companies.
The government immediately responded, holding an emergency meeting to address the situation. Officials are now investigating whether Coupang failed to comply with data protection rules.
According to the company, it discovered the unauthorized access on November 18 and immediately reported it to the authorities. The breach itself, however, likely began months earlier, around June 24, through servers located overseas.
The stolen information includes customers’ names, email addresses, phone numbers, and shipping addresses, along with some order histories. Fortunately, Coupang stated that more sensitive data, like payment details and account login information, was not compromised. Still, the government has issued a public warning, advising affected customers to be on high alert for potential phishing scams.
While Coupang has not named a culprit, the Yonhap News Agency reported that a former Chinese employee is suspected of being behind the attack. Police are reportedly investigating a complaint filed by the company earlier this month.
