Bom Kim, chair of Coupang Inc., said on the 27th during a conference call on last year's fourth-quarter and annual results, "I once again apologize for the personal data leak that occurred last year."
Starting the conference call that day, Bom Kim said, "We caused inconvenience and concern to customers with this incident," and stated accordingly. It was the first time Kim personally addressed the situation and apologized in his own voice.
Earlier, Kim issued a written apology on Dec. 28 last year. At the time, Kim said, "I fully acknowledge responsibility for causing concern due to the personal data leak, and we will review our security system from the ground up to build industry-leading infrastructure."
Coupang's large-scale personal data leak occurred on Nov. 29 last year. Kim offered a verbal apology 100 days after the incident.
Kim said, "Coupang has grown with the sole goal of 'wowing our customers,'" adding, "Customers are the only reason we exist, and earning their trust is the most important value."
Kim added, "There is nothing more serious at Coupang than failing to meet customers' expectations," and "We know we must do better going forward, and we plan to do so."