Coupang, the largest online retailer of South Korea, went through a devastating data breach that has rattled the company’s reputation. Founder Kim Bom made a public apology recently for the massive data breach that went undetected for nearly five months, starting on June 24, 2025. The apology was posted publicly on the company website along with the promise of deploying a compensation plan.
In addition to the apology, Kim Bom took a pledge that future investments and reforms will be integrated into the company and its systems to prevent any other data breaches. Kim’s apology became important as his failure to participate in the parliamentary hearing regarding the nation’s biggest data breach had invited widespread criticism.
Contained Breach Eases Investor Concerns
Post the reveal of the breach, the Coupang stocks crashed immediately. The prices fell by over 5% on December 1st, 2025. As the government’s tone became stricter and the CEO’s resignation became public, the prices continued to plummet. However, investor concerns were eased after the company revealed that the perpetrator behind the breach was a former employee and that the breach had been contained.
As this public reveal came, the stocks started to gain footing once again. However, this came at the cost of Coupang and its founder earning the wrath of the Korean government, whose help has been instrumental in containing the breach. The government was offended by the company for leaking the information about the investigation publicly.
However, the prices started to resurface after the announcement. The price surged past 9% on December 26th, 2025. With this renewed strength, analysts are projecting a future price of $33.25 per share, as the company was able to contain the breach successfully, and the company still has strong fundamentals and growth potential in its business model.
“An Insult to the People”: Lawmakers Blast Coupang Chairman Over Hearing Snub
The issue of Kim’s absence in the parliamentary hearing worsened when representative Choi Min-hee, part of the ruling Democratic Party, made a public social media announcement through Facebook. Choi Min-hee had posted a photo of the letter sent by Kim Bom stating his unavailability to attend the hearing due to other appointments that have clogged his schedule.
Choi Min-hee added that what could be more important than addressing the biggest breach in the nation’s history, and that by doing so, Kim Bom was publicly insulting the Korean people who fell victim to the breach.
While Kim Bom did not respond to Choi Min-hee’s comments, he made a general statement that included how 3000 of the 33 million customers were affected by the data breach. However, Kim said that the data had not been sold or transferred so far and that a compensatory plan is on the way.
From Cooperation to Conflict: Unilateral Disclosure of Suspect’s Details Sparks Government Backlash
Despite Kim Bom’s public apology, it appears that his absence from the parliamentary hearing might cost him dearly. South Korean lawmakers are preparing for a legal battle against Kim Bom. According to them, the billionaire founder Kim makes most of his revenue from the sales that happen within the borders of South Korea, and thereby, he stands liable for the data breach.
This escalation could partly be because of the company’s unilateral decision to disclose the fact that the suspect was an ex-employee, even though the company has been working together with the government in the investigation of the incident. Kim had earlier stated that while working with the government on this investigation, strict confidentiality of the investigation’s details would be maintained. The public disclosure of the suspect’s background has breached this agreement, according to the government.
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“A Mistake in Retrospect”: Kim Bom Addresses Apology Delay as Company Unveils Payout
Following the intense pressure from the government, the compensatory plan’s details were revealed today(29th December 2025). The company has stated in an official statement that it will compensate the 33 million customers with a total of 1.69 trillion South Korean won ($1.17 billion). These compensatory amounts will be distributed as 50,000 won worth of vouchers that can be used on the platform, according to the company.
There were several account closures post the reveal of the data breach. Coupang has announced that the customers who left the service were also entitled to these vouchers. According to the Google translation of the announcement made in the Korean language, customers can check their eligibility starting from January 15, 2026.
The interim CEO of Coupang Corp., Harold Rogers, who assumed power after CEO Park Dae-jun had resigned earlier this month, reassured customers that the company is doing everything in its power to fulfill the company’s responsibilities towards its customers, and that the $1.17 billion compensatory plan is such a fulfillment of responsibility.
Kim Bom also admitted that the apology was long overdue. However, he assured the public that through the cooperative efforts between Coupang and the government, the perpetrator has been identified and all stolen data has been retrieved safely. While Kim Bom stated that his delayed apology was courtesy of the decision that a public communication would be served best after getting more clarity of the incident, he later admitted that this decision was a mistake in retrospect.
