Coupang Chairman Beomseok Kim Issues First Apology One Month After Incident: "Disappointed with Inadequate Initial Response"

Apology for Lack of Communication
"Delayed Apology Was Also a Mistaken Judgment"

Beomseok Kim, Founder and Chairman of the Board at Coupang Inc., issued his first apology on December 28 regarding the personal information leak incident.

In a statement distributed by Coupang on this day, Chairman Kim said, "As the founder and chairman of the board of Coupang, I sincerely apologize on behalf of all Coupang employees." This marks his first public apology one month after the personal information leak became known.

He stated, "Due to this data leak, which occurred under our responsibility, many people have felt fear and anxiety that their personal information is not safe. Furthermore, our failure to communicate clearly and directly from the early stages of the incident has caused great frustration and disappointment." He added, "I sincerely apologize for the inadequate initial response and lack of communication immediately after the incident."

Regarding the fact that it took a month after the leak became public for him to apologize, he said, "Above all, my apology was late," and continued, "I believed it would be best to communicate publicly and apologize only after all the facts had been verified. In hindsight, this was a mistaken judgment."

Addressing the controversy over Coupang’s recent announcement of its own investigation results, he said, "From the beginning of the investigation, Coupang has fully cooperated with the government," and added, "Throughout the process, even as much misinformation spread, we strictly complied with the government’s request for confidentiality." With this, he maintained Coupang’s previously stated position that it had cooperated with the government.

Beomseok Kim, Chairman of the Board at Coupang Inc.