Major customer exodus at Coupang unlikely: Report

Seoul [South Korea], December 3 : Coupang Inc is unlikely to experience significant customer churn despite a major data breach affecting more than 33 million users, a report by Pulse, the English service of Maeil Business News Korea, showed on Tuesday.

According to Reuters, JP Morgan said in a research note that "we expect potential customer losses to be limited due to Coupang's unrivalled market positioning and Korean customers being seemingly less sensitive to data breach issues."

JP Morgan warned, however, that the e-commerce giant may still face "sizable one-off losses," including a potential voluntary compensation package and government-imposed penalties. Such risks are expected to weigh on investor sentiment in the near term.

Coupang shares closed down 5.3 per cent at $26.65 on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday, after falling more than 7 per cent intraday.

Coupang said on November 29 that names, emails, phone numbers, addresses, and certain order details were exposed for 33.7 million customers.

At a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, President Lee Jae-myung said the breach had caused "deep concern" among the public and called on ministries to consider measures such as heavier fines and punitive damages, referencing overseas regulatory frameworks.

Domestic estimates suggest penalties could reach up to 1 trillion won ($680 million).

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