E-commerce giant Coupang has announced a compensation plan exceeding $1.17 billion in response to a significant personal data breach. The plan, revealed a day after founder Kim Bom-suk’s public apology, aims to provide 50,000 won worth of discounts and coupons to each of the 33.7 million affected customers, starting from Jan. 15.
The compensation package includes benefits for various customer segments, such as paid Coupang Wow members, regular users, and former customers who closed their accounts. Coupang’s interim CEO, Harold Rogers, emphasized the company’s commitment to customer-centric values and pledged to rebuild trust post-incident. The compensation breakdown comprises amounts for different services offered by Coupang, including its e-commerce platform, food delivery service, travel products, and luxury beauty and fashion items.
Coupang recently identified a former employee as the culprit behind the data breach, recovered the hacking equipment, and obtained a confession. While the company stated that only around 3,000 accounts were affected and the data was deleted, the government has raised doubts, awaiting the outcome of a joint investigation. The breach, affecting 33.7 million accounts, exposed personal details like names, phone numbers, email addresses, and delivery locations.
