Probe on Coupang based on law without discrimination: Science minister

Seoul, Feb 11 (IANS) Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon said on Wednesday that the government has been conducting a probe into the South Korean unit of US-listed e-commerce giant Coupang under principle without discrimination, refuting criticism from the US political circle.

Bae made the remark during a parliamentary session, after the US House Judiciary Committee began investigating what it has called South Korea’s “discriminatory targeting” of American companies last Thursday (US time), reports Yonhap news agency.

“(The probe by South Korea) is being implemented under the law and principle,” Bae said, responding to a lawmaker’s question on whether the government has taken any discriminatory measures against Coupang.

Coupang reported a massive data breach in November, in which personal information, including names, phone numbers, email addresses and delivery details, was exposed.

The company, citing its own investigation, initially claimed that data from only 3,000 accounts had been leaked.

A joint public-private probe into the breach, however, confirmed on Tuesday that over 33.6 million accounts have been exposed.

“While (information) of the 33.67 million accounts can be stored in a hard disk for cloud account, Coupang is not providing a clear explanation,” Bae said.

“It is the duty of the government to clearly find, investigate and reveal clear facts,” Bae added.

The retail giant, offering overnight delivery of groceries and daily necessities, is one of the most popular shopping platforms in South Korea, with the breach possibly affecting about two-thirds of the country’s entire population.

A joint public-private probe into a major data breach case at the South Korean unit of U.S.-listed e-commerce giant Coupang Inc. has confirmed that over 33.6 million accounts have been exposed, the science ministry said, suggesting the company may have sought to play down the incident by initially claiming only some 3,000 had been compromised.

The South Korean unit, Coupang Corp., also failed to promptly report the incident despite related regulations, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT.

The ministry said it will impose a fine on the company for the delayed report and pursue a formal investigation, stressing that the company has failed to preserve key evidence despite its earlier request.

—IANS

na/