The Democratic Party of Korea raised the pressure on Coupang again, highlighting massive personal data leaks, overwork deaths among parcel delivery workers, and unfair practices by delivery apps. In particular, Coupang disclosed to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that only 3,000 personal data entries were leaked, and said it plans to correct this with the government. There was also a claim that Coupang should be regulated by designating Kim Beom-suk, chair of Coupang Inc., as the same person who is the head of the corporations group.
The Democratic Party of Korea's Euljiro Committee held a meeting on countermeasures for the Coupang personal data leak at the National Assembly members' office building on the afternoon of the 19th. The Euljiro Committee formed a "Set Coupang Right task force (TF)" under it and decided to draw up measures by dividing the TF into subcommittees on parcels, delivery apps, personal information protection, governance, and marketplace sellers.
Min Byung-deok, a Democratic Party lawmaker who heads the Euljiro Committee, said, "Problems at Coupang keep piling up, from labor issues and unfairness to encroachment on commercial districts and the leak of 33.7 million pieces of personal information," and added, "The Ministry of Science and ICT's public-private joint investigation finding of 33.67 million cases and Coupang's own investigation figure of 3,000 show a gap so large that they are hard to compare."
On this day, the Euljiro Committee discussed countermeasures for the Coupang personal data leak with relevant ministries, including the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT), the Korea Fair Trade Commission, and the Personal Information Protection Commission. The Euljiro Committee and the government said they will first correct the SEC filing, as misunderstandings are arising in U.S. political circles that Coupang understated the number of leaked personal data entries. Coupang is to submit recurrence prevention measures related to the security incident within this month.
After the meeting, Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Hoon-ki met with reporters and said, "The leak was disclosed to the U.S. SEC as 3,000 cases, and U.S. political circles seem concerned that the government is being too harsh on Coupang based only on the disclosed figure," adding, "The government will work through various channels to correct it."
The Euljiro Committee also argued that Kim should be designated as the head of the group in order to regulate Coupang. If the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) designates Kim as the head and Coupang is included in a large business group, it will be subject to regulations such as disclosure obligations and a ban on private interest appropriation.
Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Young-bae said, "Coupang is generating 90% of its sales in Korea but is failing to meet even the minimum obligations as a user in Korea just because it is a U.S. corporation," adding, "Kim should be designated as the head of the group, and the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) should also make its position clear."
A business suspension, a sanction tool against Coupang, appears unlikely for the time being. Lawmaker Min Byung-deok said, "Under the e-commerce law, a business suspension is possible only after a leak and subsequent misuse are confirmed," adding, "We have not yet found any cases of misuse, so we cannot go that far."