After the Coupang personal data leak, the number of cross-border shoppers seeking to get new personal customs code (customs code) numbers surged. As the possibility of customs codes being leaked online was raised, concerns spread that they could be misused on overseas shopping sites.
On Dec. 2, according to data that the office of Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Jeong Il-yeong received from the Korea Customs Service, the number of reissuances of customs codes rose 2.4 times from 123,302 on the 30th to 298,742 the day before. The number of reissuances over the past two days was 422,044, about four times the total from January to October this year (111,045).
The number of customs code cancellations, which had stayed at a daily average of 10 to 20, spiked from 3,851 on the 30th to 11,312 the day before. Suspensions increased from a daily average of 100 to 4,514 on the 30th and 6,322 the day before, respectively.
As concerns over personal data leaks grew due to the Coupang incident, cross-border shoppers rushed to reissue their customs codes. A personal customs code is a number assigned to identify who imported goods during customs clearance for overseas purchases, and it can be searched and reissued through the Korea Customs Service Uni-Pass system.
An official at the Korea Customs Service said, "We will strengthen verification by changing the customs code issuance form," and added, "After the issuance system changes that take effect on Jan. 5 next year, we will proceed with clearance only after checking whether the English name and the zip code in the delivery address match."
As consumer concerns about customs code leaks grew, Coupang said the codes were not included in the information leaked this time. Park Dae-jun, the Coupang CEO, said at a National Assembly Science. ICT. Broadcasting. and Communications Committee inquiry on the matter that "so far, the investigation indicates that personal customs numbers have not been leaked."