[Reporter’s Notebook] Platforms Dodge Responsibility for Every Incident... The Coupang Crisis Must Be the Starting Point to Break the Cycle

Order Volume Halved Amid 'Leave Coupang' Movement
Small Business Owners Face Real Losses Across the Platform
T-Mep Incident Repayment Rate Stands at Just 0.75%
Legal and Institutional Safeguards Still Pending in the National Assembly
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"On weekends, I used to get at least 120 orders, but since the Coupang personal information leak incident, my orders have been cut in half to around 50," said Mr. Lee, who sells electronic device accessories in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, unable to hide his frustration. He has been making a living for years as a small business owner selling products on Coupang. Thanks to meticulous finishing and durability, his products have consistently received positive reviews, earning him a reputation as a 'trusted seller.' However, after this incident, as a 'leave Coupang' movement spread across social media and online communities, his order volume plummeted almost instantly.

There are growing voices pointing out that the recent Coupang incident is not only harming consumers but is also causing damage to small business owners and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) selling on the platform. While consumers are left feeling anxious, small business owners are facing the reality of declining sales. While Coupang has only issued a formal response, promising to clarify responsibility and the cause, the lives of small business owners who rely precariously on online platforms for their livelihoods have been shaken to a noticeable degree. Once again, the shock from a 'platform incident' is hitting the most vulnerable links-small business owners and SMEs-the hardest and fastest.

This situation is reminiscent of last year's Tmon and Wemakeprice (Tmap) incident, which affected small business owners selling on those platforms. That crisis, triggered by structural problems within the platforms such as reckless expansion and a fragile settlement system, resulted in damages to about 50,000 small business owners. Real compensation remains a distant hope. The total rehabilitation claims for Tmon amount to 1.2083 trillion won, but the repayment rate so far is only 0.75 percent. This means that a victim who was owed 10 million won has received only 75,000 won back.

Although the causes of the Coupang personal information leak and the Tmap incident are different, both cases share the same structure: small business owners end up bearing the brunt of damages when platforms lose consumer trust. While platforms tout themselves as 'growth partners' and promote 'mutual cooperation,' when incidents occur, they step back from taking responsibility for compensation. Losses ranging from millions to tens of millions of won ultimately fall squarely on the shoulders of individual business owners. The formula in which the most vulnerable small business owners are forced to shoulder the risk costs stemming from structural issues like poor security and inadequate management systems has been repeating for years.

The outcome is likely to be similar this time as well. After the Tmap incident, there were calls for legal and institutional measures to protect small business owners from damages caused by online platform incidents, but most of these proposals have failed to pass the National Assembly. Small business owners, who have become victims in the current situation, are expressing frustration because they do not even know where to turn for help regarding their losses from declining sales. Their message is, "Whether it's the government or Coupang, someone needs to step in and resolve this." How long must this unfair system continue? The Coupang incident must now become the starting point for breaking this cycle.