"Can Foreign Companies Be Trusted?" Coupang Incident Hits Aliexpress and Temu, Naver Gains an Edge

Concerns Over Data Breach Affect C-Commerce Platforms
Domestic Platforms See Limited Gains Amid Market Uncertainty
Major Supermarkets Fail to Benefit From Weakened Consumer Sentiment
Retailers Strengthen Promotions and Discounts to Compete in the

As Coupang's massive personal data breach has continued for over a month, the number of users on Chinese e-commerce (C-commerce) platforms with significant financial resources, such as Aliexpress and Temu, has actually declined. In contrast, the number of users on domestic e-commerce platforms has shown a partial increase. This trend appears to be the result of growing consumer backlash against cross-border e-commerce platforms, fueled by controversy over the nationality of Coupang Inc. founder Bom Kim, which surfaced during a National Assembly hearing.

According to data from mobile analytics company IGAWorks’ Mobile Index on January 5, Coupang’s weekly active users (WAU) stood at 26,685,323 during the fourth week of December 2025 (December 22-28), a 4.2% decrease from 27,843,021 in the fourth week of November 2025 (November 24-30), just before the data breach incident occurred.

During the same period, the number of users on C-commerce platforms also declined. In the last week of November 2025, Aliexpress had 4,461,763 WAU, but this dropped by about 17.4% to 3,684,814 in the last week of December 2025. Temu’s user count also fell by 5.4%, from 3,807,337 to 3,601,455. Since it is widely believed that the Coupang incident was caused by a former employee of Chinese nationality, concerns over security issues-which have long surrounded C-commerce platforms-appear to have affected user behavior.

Indeed, online communities feature customer comments such as, “Coupang’s response is infuriating, but concerns over quality issues and personal data make it difficult to switch hastily to Aliexpress or Temu.”

Domestic e-commerce platforms, on the other hand, are seeing a rebound in user numbers. For example, Gmarket’s WAU rose by 3.4% in a month, from 3,441,968 in the fourth week of November 2025 to 3,558,432 in the fourth week of December 2025. 11st also saw a 6.3% increase over the same period, from 3,781,113 to 4,018,122. The platform with the most significant growth was Naver Plus Store, whose user count jumped 11.1%, from 3,250,197 to 3,609,808. Although not included in the main statistics, SSG.com has also seen a roughly 10% year-on-year increase in new members and daily visitors since the start of the new year. However, even when combined, these platforms still do not match Coupang’s user numbers. Notably, despite its high growth rate, Naver Plus Store’s user count actually fell by 3.6% compared to the previous week’s 3,745,743.

Large supermarkets competing in the offline market also saw only limited spillover effects. Not only Homeplus, which is facing a crisis of survival due to corporate rehabilitation proceedings, but also other chains such as Emart and Lotte Mart reportedly maintained sales at similar levels year-on-year in December 2025. Considering that business activities were restricted due to political instability following the 12·3 Martial Law Crisis at the end of 2024 and the Jeju Air passenger plane crash at Muan International Airport on December 29, last year’s sales situation did not improve.

An industry insider commented, “With consumer sentiment remaining subdued, both online and offline retail markets are generally underperforming. Customers tend to flock to stores only during discount events, and this pattern keeps repeating.” As a result, retailers are expanding promotions such as discounts and customer benefits in the new year. For instance, Emart is extending the duration of its flagship discount event, Goraeit Festa, from the usual three to four days to seven days, while also increasing the number of items included in the event by over 30%. Lotte Mart and Lotte Super are also introducing “Tongkeun Day” as a regular monthly event, offering up to 50% off on selected food and daily essentials. Sales from Tongkeun Day, held from December 29 to January 4, increased by about 15% compared to the same period last year.