Coupang customers face escalating phishing threats following South Korea's worst data breach in a decade, with about 33-34 million accounts compromised in November 2025. The e-commerce giant's interim CEO Harold Rogers was summoned for police questioning this week as authorities investigate the company's handling of the incident.
Financial authorities report a surge in voice phishing attempts targeting Coupang users, with scammers using stolen personal data to craft convincing delivery and credit card schemes. According to the Financial Supervisory Service, criminals are exploiting anxiety over the data leak through fake credit card issuance calls and malicious links disguised as compensation offers.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency launched a special task force investigating three key areas: the compromise of over 33 million customer records, deletion of five months of access logs, and Coupang's internal investigation procedures. Police notified Rogers to appear for questioning regarding the company's unilateral probe and forensic analysis. A former Coupang employee attempted to destroy evidence by smashing his MacBook Air and throwing it into a river, only to have investigators recover the device days later.
Coupang announced on December 25 that a suspect stole personal information from 33 million users but only saved data from 3,000 individuals. The Ministry of Science and ICT dismissed these findings as one-sided and incomplete, escalating government scrutiny of the company's response.
South Korea's financial watchdog will audit Coupang Financial next week over high-interest loan products charging up to 18.9% annual rates. The Financial Supervisory Service identified possible regulatory violations during preliminary inspections and accused the company of arbitrarily levying unacceptable interest rates to generate exorbitant profits.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups established a Coupang Incident Small Business Victim Reporting Center to assess damage among vendors experiencing sales declines. Small businesses operating on the platform can submit damage reports through the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise's website, with results shared with a pan-governmental task force.
Third-party analysts estimate Coupang's weekly active customers declined 4% since the data leak, while competitors gained users. Despite this, Wall Street analysts maintain bullish outlooks, with Bank of America Securities projecting 64% upside and Morgan Stanley forecasting 34% growth for Coupang stock in 2026.
Coupang executives face investor lawsuits alleging inadequate cybersecurity safeguards and breach of fiduciary duties. Shareholders filed derivative complaints in California federal court claiming the company's failure to protect customer data exposed it to legal and regulatory scrutiny. The U.S. investor class action lawsuit alleges securities law violations after the data breach exposed information of more than 33 million customers.
The company launched a $1.1 billion compensation package for affected customers following the breach, which contributed to CEO Park Dae-jun's resignation. Coupang's stock ended 2025 about 6% higher despite the scandal, with the company maintaining about 15% of South Korea's retail market share according to 2024 estimates.
No confirmed financial losses have been reported among Coupang-related phishing cases, but the Financial Supervisory Service warns closer monitoring is needed. Authorities advise customers to verify all communications and avoid clicking suspicious links claiming to offer compensation or resolve delivery issues.
