Controversy Over Hearing Attitudes and Chairman Kim Beomseok's Silence
"Talpang" Accelerates: Coupang Users Leave as Naver and Kurly Gain
"Why are you not sharing information with the Korean public?"
Harold Rogers, Acting CEO of Coupang, appeared as a witness at the National Assembly hearing on December 30 regarding the "Coupang Security Incident, Personal Information Leak, Unfair Trade Practices, and Labor Environment: Investigation and Prevention Measures." He reacted strongly to suspicions of a "self-investigation."
Harold Rogers, Acting CEO of Coupang, is speaking at the 'Coupang Joint Hearing' held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 30th. Photo by Kang Jinhyung
More than a month has passed since the Coupang customer information leak, but the aftermath continues. A combination of factors-including the belated apology from Coupang Inc. Chairman Kim Beomseok, dissatisfaction with the company's proposed compensation plan, the insincere attitude of company officials at the National Assembly hearing, and ongoing confrontation with the government-has accelerated the trend of "Talpang" (users leaving Coupang).
According to mobile index data from data tech company IGAWorks on December 31, Coupang's Daily Active Users (DAU) stood at 14,798,787 as of December 27. After Coupang disclosed the personal information leak on November 29, DAU hovered around 15 million for a while, but recently the daily unique user count has declined further, dropping into the 14.7 million range.
December is typically considered the peak season in the retail industry due to high demand for gifts. However, given the current trend, Coupang's Monthly Active Users (MAU) are also likely to decline next month. Coupang's MAU increased to 34,420,000 last month, up from 34,380,000 in October and 34,150,000 in September, but the Weekly Active Users (WAU) metric has shown a clear downward trend. Coupang's WAU dropped from 29,080,000 during December 1-7 to 27,350,000 during December 8-14, and further to 27,000,000 during December 15-21, marking two consecutive weeks of decline. User engagement also weakened. During December 1-7, immediately after news of the data breach broke, the average usage time per person was 37 minutes, but it subsequently fell to the 34-minute range.
Performance is also estimated to have declined. According to data submitted by Shinhan Card to Democratic Party lawmaker Hwang Jeonga, Coupang's sales dropped by about 30% from approximately 133.148 billion won during November 24-28 to about 92.731 billion won during December 6-10, after the company disclosed the personal information leak.
This is interpreted as a result of Coupang's response to the incident falling short of consumer expectations.
At the joint National Assembly hearing led by the Democratic Party the previous day, suspicions were raised that Coupang's December 25 report on the data breach was a "self-investigation" aimed at downplaying the incident. Harold Rogers, Acting CEO of Coupang, strongly objected to the committee's criticism, stating that the company was "acting under the instructions of a government agency (the National Intelligence Service)." In response, the National Intelligence Service called this "clearly false," requested the National Assembly to file perjury charges, and the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Police Agency, both responsible for fact-finding, also denied ever instructing or consulting with Coupang regarding the investigation, further escalating the confrontation.
Competing platforms are benefiting from the Coupang incident. The WAU of Naver Plus Store increased from about 3.25 million at the end of last month to 3.5 million during December 1-7, and further to 3.74 million in mid-December. Kurly also saw its user numbers grow from 2.09 million to around 2.28 million during the same period. At 11st, the number of new customers for "Shooting Delivery," which offers same-day and next-day delivery, rose by 229% year-on-year during December 1-29.
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