After Coupang's massive personal data leak, a local U.S. law firm launched a preliminary probe into whether Coupang Inc., Coupang's parent company, violated securities laws.
According to U.S. outlet Business Wire on the 5th, DJS Law Group, a local law firm specializing in investor rights, recently began investigating Coupang Inc. over potential securities law violations.
The probe is said to focus on key issues such as whether Coupang Inc. provided investors with material information in a timely and sufficient manner after the data leak, and whether there were elements that constituted omissions of material facts or false or exaggerated disclosures under U.S. securities laws.
Reuters previously reported that "Korean police are tracking the possibility of hacking and system vulnerabilities in connection with Coupang's massive personal data leak."
DJS Law Group is a law firm in the United States that has handled class actions related to securities and corporate governance. Recently, it also investigated whether there were violations of investor disclosures in connection with allegations of military communications security vulnerabilities at U.S. data analytics company Palantir Technologies.
The current Coupang Inc. probe has not reached the stage of a formal lawsuit filed in court. When a major negative event occurs, law firms conduct preliminary reviews of legal issues and the scale of damages before class actions. They then post notices through media outlets to recruit plaintiffs. It is seen as an early stage that leaves open the possibility of a future class action.
If a class action gains traction in the United States, increased stock volatility appears inevitable. It could also affect the investment sentiment and decisions of institutional investors holding Coupang Inc. shares.
A person in the financial investment industry said, "It is still at the preliminary review stage, but if the controversy over disclosure adequacy grows, institutional investors will have no choice but to consider adjusting their allocations as part of risk management."
Seo Yong-gu, a professor in the School of Business at Sookmyung Women's University, said, "This incident will likely strengthen the trend of recognizing security as a key risk across e-commerce, platforms, and information technology (IT) corporations."