Coupang pushed back against a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker's claim that the suspect in the massive personal data leak tried to extract money by separately compiling a list of adult product purchasers, saying it is "not true."
Coupang issued a statement on the 12th, saying, "The claim that the attacker (the suspect) separately categorized about 3,000 adult product purchasers and threatened them is not true," and added, "Neither the findings of the recently announced public-private joint investigation team nor any of the emails sent by the attacker contain threats aimed at monetary gain."
It added, "It is regrettable that information contrary to the facts was mentioned during the interpellation session," and said, "We pledge to consider every possible measure to prevent a recurrence. We will do our utmost to protect customers' valuable personal information."
Earlier, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kim Seung-won, during a National Assembly interpellation session the previous day, raised the Coupang personal data leak and said, "The leak suspect selected 3,000 members of the public who ordered adult products from among the personal information of some 33 million people and created a separate list." Kim said, "Knowing their addresses, names, and phone numbers, the suspect threatened that unless money was paid, the information would be disclosed externally to put Coupang in a difficult position," urging countermeasures.
In response, Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said, "Relevant agencies are preparing various contingency measures not only for investigation and prosecution but also to prevent a recurrence."