Verbal apology during Q4 earnings conference call
Denies legal liability
On February 26 (local time), Kim Beomseok, chairman of Coupang Inc., Coupang's parent company, apologized for the personal information leak that occurred late last year. Contrary to expectations that he would avoid directly addressing the incident, he offered a verbal apology and moved to placate customers.
During a conference call held that day to announce last year's earnings, Chairman Kim said, "I would like to once again apologize for the concern and inconvenience caused to our customers by the personal information incident."
This is the first time Chairman Kim has publicly stated his position on the personal information leak in his own voice at an official event. The only previous case was on December 28 last year, when he issued a written apology saying, "I fully recognize my responsibility for the concern caused by the personal information leak, and we will review our security systems from the ground up and build infrastructure at the highest level in the industry."
In the past, during the conference call for the second quarter of 2021, when the fire at the Deokpyeong logistics center occurred, Chairman Kim also avoided directly mentioning the related issues. The fire itself was only mentioned by Gaurav Anand, Coupang's Chief Financial Officer (CFO), in the context of explaining its financial impact.
Chairman Kim said, "Everything Coupang has built so far has focused on a single goal: 'delighting customers,'" adding, "Customers are the only reason we exist, and we work every day to earn their trust."
He continued, "There is nothing more serious than failing to meet customer expectations at Coupang," and stressed, "We know very well that we must do better, and we will definitely do so."
He also said, "Coupang promises to work closely with government authorities as a constructive partner."
However, Coupang Inc. continued to deny any legal liability for the personal information leak. As Coupang Inc. is listed on the U.S. stock market, if its remarks at an official event were perceived as acknowledging legal responsibility for the leak, the company could be exposed to significant legal risks such as class-action lawsuits.
Harold Rogers, acting head of Coupang Korea, said at the event, "Coupang's security systems comply with industry standards," and concluded, "This incident was not a systemic security failure, but the result of a targeted attack in which a malicious former employee exploited internal information to abuse the software development process."
He added, "This incident is a crime committed by a former employee against Coupang and its customers, and we have been urging that this employee be brought to justice and receive the maximum punishment allowed by law," and said, "If someone abuses the trust placed in them to commit crimes against the very people they are supposed to serve, they must be held accountable for their actions in the name of justice and to deter others who might seek to abuse such trust in a similar way in the future."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
