"Announcing Unverified Information Causes Confusion"
Strict Warning for Delayed or Missing Submission of Materials
The Personal Information Protection Commission has urged Coupang to immediately cease posting notices regarding its personal information leak incident on its application and website, based on the company’s own investigation. The commission explained that announcing unverified information before the official investigation is complete could confuse the public and potentially interfere with the ongoing investigation.
On January 14, the commission held a plenary meeting to review Coupang’s response to the personal information leak, as well as the implementation status of improvement recommendations that were resolved twice in December of last year.
During this process, the commission pointed out that Coupang posted and maintained unilateral statements obtained through direct contact with a former employee identified as the source of the leak, even though the investigation was still underway. The commission criticized Coupang for presenting these statements on its app and website as if they had been officially confirmed.
The commission explained that such notices could make it difficult to accurately determine the details and scope of the leak, and may lead the public to misunderstand the situation. It stated that these actions could be considered interference with the commission’s investigation into the leak. The commission also pointed out that this runs counter to the intent of the two previous resolutions urging improvement.
Additionally, the commission assessed that Coupang’s implementation of the previous improvement recommendations was generally superficial and insufficient, and called for further improvements. Specifically, the commission requested that Coupang establish a function within its app and website to allow users to check if their personal information was leaked, and to promptly notify data subjects whose information was included in the list of delivery addresses.
Lack of cooperation during the investigation was also highlighted as an issue. The commission warned, “Coupang has repeatedly failed to submit requested materials or has delayed their submission. This may constitute interference with the investigation and could be considered an aggravating factor in any future sanctions.”
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