Coupang, the No. 1 e-commerce corporations in Korea, saw its share price rebound overnight in New York despite a massive personal data leak.
On the 2nd (local time) in New York, Coupang shares closed at $26.71, up 0.23% from the previous session. After plunging 5.36% the previous day, the first trading day since the data breach was disclosed, the stock showed weakness at the open but turned higher in the afternoon as selling subsided.
Coupang said on the 29th that it confirmed personal information from 33.7 million customer accounts had been exposed. The exposed data included customer names, email addresses, names, phone numbers, and addresses saved in shipping address books, and some order information. Earlier, on the 18th, Coupang recognized a personal data leak affecting about 4,500 people and reported it to the authorities.
In this sensitive situation, it also became known that key Coupang executives sold large amounts of their holdings before the incident was recognized, fueling controversy.
According to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing, Gaurav Anand, Coupang chief financial officer (CFO), reported selling 75,350 shares of Coupang Inc. on the 10th at $29.0195 per share. The total was $2.186 million (about 3.2 billion won).
Former Vice President Pranam Kolari also sold 27,388 Coupang shares on the 17th of the same month, cashing out $772,000 (about 1.13 billion won). Kolari, a key technology executive who oversaw search and recommendations, resigned on the 14th.
Although these transactions took place before Coupang officially recognized the incident, the timing of stock sales by current and former key executives is drawing criticism that it could raise suspicions of "insider trading."
Amid the ongoing controversy, JPMorgan said Coupang's market share is unlikely to take a major hit. In a report the previous day, JPMorgan said, "Coupang enjoys a market position with no competitor, and Korean customers appear less sensitive to data breaches," adding, "Potential customer churn will be limited."