As it became known that personal information in 33.7 million Coupang customer accounts was exposed externally, consumer anxiety is spreading uncontrollably. Confusion is growing because individual users have to check exposure status themselves via email or text message. Given that information on a scale equivalent to half the population was affected, concerns are not easing easily.
On the 29th, anxiety and complaints have been pouring in on online communities and social media after Coupang's personal information exposure incident came to light. In particular, regional mom cafes frequented by housewives who often use Coupang have seen a steady stream of posts such as, "I heard that even names, addresses and phone numbers were exposed, and I can't sleep," and "Could the shared entrance door code also have been exposed?"
On X (formerly Twitter), users who received texts and other notifications about the exposure of personal information are posting complaints. One X user wrote, "I'm already angry that I pay for Coupang's paid membership every month because of using Coupang Play, and now I'm angry that a personal information leak has happened."
According to Coupang, users whose personal information was exposed are being informed of the details via email or text message. Coupang said, "The exposed information is limited to name, email, delivery address book (recipient, phone number, address), and some order information," and emphasized, "Sensitive information such as payment information, credit card numbers and login information was not leaked."
However, because Coupang is the e-commerce platform with the most users in Korea, consumer anxiety is not easily easing. The scale of the leak also far exceeds the personal information breach at SK Telecom this year (23 million people). Considering that Coupang's monthly active users (MAU) number around 32 million, some analysts say it is virtually the same as the information of almost everyone who uses Coupang being compromised.