Science minister reaffirms Coupang data leak affected 33 mil. customers

Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon on Tuesday reaffirmed that a recent data leak at Coupang affected 33 million customers in South Korea, voicing concerns over an assessment report released separately by the U.S.-listed e-commerce giant last week. "The joint government–private sector investigation, including the Personal Information Protection Commission and the police, revealed that the names and email addresses of more than 33 million users were leaked," Bae said during a parliamentary session. The remarks came after Coupang claimed last week that data from only about 3,000 accounts had actually been downloaded and later deleted by the suspect. "We cannot agree with that claim," Bae said. The minister said details such as users' addresses and order information were also believed to have been leaked. "We express grave concern toward Coupang, which issued an announcement that had not been coordinated with the government," he said.