FSS Shifts to Inspection of Coupang Pay... Coupang Financial Also Under Review From the 12th

Coupang-Coupang Pay Data Transmission Under Scrutiny
Focus on Possible Violations of Credit Information and Electronic Financial Transaction Laws
Inspection of Coupang Financial's "High-Interest Loans" Also Underway

The Financial Supervisory Service is launching an inspection of Coupang Pay, a subsidiary of Coupang. An inspection of Coupang Financial is also beginning. As government pressure intensifies in response to the massive personal information leak at Coupang, the Financial Supervisory Service is also increasing the level of scrutiny on Coupang's financial subsidiaries.

A massive personal information leak incident involving over 30 million cases occurred at Coupang. This scale surpasses the economically active population of 29.69 million, making it the worst leak incident in history. Photo by Dongju Yoon, Coupang headquarters on December 1, 2025.

According to financial authorities on the 11th, the Financial Supervisory Service has completed an on-site inspection of Coupang Pay and will begin a formal inspection starting the following day.

The Financial Supervisory Service has been investigating whether payment information was also leaked from Coupang Pay, a subsidiary connected through the "One ID · One Click" structure, after more than 33 million cases of personal information were leaked from Coupang in November of last year.

It was reported that Coupang Pay did not submit the requested documents during the initial on-site inspection, making it impossible to confirm specific details.

Coupang Pay has explained that, since its parent company Coupang is a U.S. corporation, internal procedures take time.

In response, the Financial Supervisory Service has shifted to a formal inspection. As an electronic financial business operator, Coupang Pay is subject to inspection under the Electronic Financial Transactions Act. If it refuses, obstructs, or avoids the inspection or submission of documents, it may be subject to sanctions such as fines.

However, the Financial Supervisory Service currently believes that the possibility of payment information leakage is low.

Accordingly, the Financial Supervisory Service plans to further verify whether payment information was leaked, while also focusing on whether the Information and Communications Network Act and the Electronic Financial Transactions Act were violated in the process of information transmission and reception between Coupang and Coupang Pay.

Coupang, as an e-commerce company, handles different types of information than Coupang Pay and requires a legal basis for sharing information.

By joining the joint public-private investigation team at the end of last month, the Financial Supervisory Service has also gained the authority to examine information from Coupang, which is not a financial company.

Lee Chanjin, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, recently told reporters, "We are reviewing the information flow from Coupang to Coupang Pay and from Coupang Pay to Coupang in a cross-checking manner."

On the 7th, the Financial Supervisory Service sent a prior inspection notice to Coupang Financial, another Coupang affiliate, and will begin the inspection the following day.

The "Seller Growth Loan," which carries an annual interest rate of up to 18.9%, is the subject of this inspection.

The Financial Supervisory Service is reported to have identified possible violations of the Financial Consumer Protection Act, such as the appropriateness of interest rate calculations and regulations on the handling and repayment of loan funds.