Coupang rejects order to pay 100,000 won per customer in data breach case

Coupang Inc. has rejected a mediation order from the Korea Consumer Agency's Consumer Dispute Mediation Committee directing it to pay 100,000 won ($74) per customer affected by a personal data breach.

According to industry sources Thursday, Coupang notified the committee in writing on Friday that it would not accept the order.

"We carefully reviewed the mediation proposal but ultimately concluded that acceptance was not feasible," the company said. "It was a careful decision made after comprehensively weighing the proactive efforts we have made and the broader domestic and international ramifications of accepting the order."

The committee had recognized Coupang's liability for damages in connection with a personal data leak that came to light late last year. The ruling followed a collective dispute mediation application filed by 50 consumers.

Had Coupang accepted the order, victims who did not participate in the collective mediation process would have been entitled to the same compensation, bringing the total potential payout to around 3.7 trillion won ($2.73 billion).

Coupang had earlier provided about 1.69 trillion won in compensation, including shopping vouchers worth 50,000 won each distributed to roughly 33.7 million customers whose data was exposed.

Meanwhile, a civic coalition called "Joint Action for a Safer Coupang," which includes People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, held a press conference Wednesday, saying the company's rejection signaled its intent "to contest further liability with victims through civil litigation."