National Assembly Science and ICT Committee Member Yang Jeong-suk
Rebuttal to Coupang's Statement
[Asia Economy Reporter Minyoung Cha] Yang Jeongsuk, a member of the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Committee who raised concerns about the leakage of Coupang members' personal information to China, rebutted Coupang's explanation on the 29th, calling it a 'deception of the public.'
Yang Jeongsuk issued a statement that day, stating, "Coupang's statement is either hiding the fact that personal information was provided and transferred to Hanlim Network in China or is a claim made without properly understanding the current Personal Information Protection Act."
She then refuted Coupang's explanation released on the 26th point by point. Coupang immediately issued a statement on the 26th to explain after Yang Jeongsuk pointed out the possibility that sensitive personal information of Coupang members could be leaked to China.
First, Yang directly opposed Coupang's claim that "Hanlim Network (Shanghai Beijing Limited) can only access customer information in a limited way for business purposes, and it is not true that this information is transferred and stored by the company."
She said, "The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) defines the meaning of accessing personal information in the 'Personal Information Protection Act and Guidelines · Notice Interpretation' as including cases where access rights to the database (DB) system are granted to view and copy, thereby sharing personal information."
She continued, "The legal matters regarding the purpose of transfer and supervision differ, but the factual aspect of 'being transferred' is the same," adding, "Coupang's claim that Hanlim Network only accesses customers' personal information in a limited way and that it is not a transfer or storage contradicts the essential nature of electronic information and misinterprets the law."
Regarding Coupang's explanation that "access was limited for business purposes such as monitoring and detecting fraudulent activities," she pointed out, "Hanlim Network's purpose of using personal information includes operating Coupang's services, which implies comprehensive use."
She also rebutted Coupang's claim that "even limited access is conducted within the approval, management, and control scope of the personal information manager in Korea." Yang said, "Hanlim Network is currently located in China and transfers and processes personal information within China, thus subject to China's Network Security Law and Personal Information Protection Law," adding, "The management and control authority of Coupang's Korean headquarters over personal information processing in China can be rendered ineffective."
In this context, since Hanlim Network accesses Korean personal information, it means personal information has been provided and transferred to China, allowing the Chinese government to access it under Chinese law. This targets Coupang's claim that "it is fundamentally impossible for the Chinese government to access the information at any time."
Yang stated, "Coupang's statement did not present objective evidence or detailed data consistent with the facts, only increasing public anxiety and suspicion," and added, "We plan to clarify the facts through the national audit and resolve public concerns through additional data requests."
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