Critics argue actual benefit per person is only 10,000 won via vouchers for less-used services

Coupang announced on the 29th a compensation plan worth 1.685 trillion Korean won for 33.7 million accounts affected by the personal information leak. Starting January 15 of next year, each customer will receive four single-use purchase vouchers totaling 50,000 Korean won.

The compensation plan includes Rocket Delivery, Rocket Global, Seller Rocket, and Coupang Marketplace (5,000 Korean won), Coupang Eats (5,000 Korean won), Coupang Travel products (20,000 Korean won), and R.LUX products (20,000 Korean won). The compensation for Coupang and Coupang Eats, which customers frequently use, amounts to only 10,000 Korean won, with the remaining 40,000 Korean won allocated to Coupang's separate services.

Coupang Travel is a travel-focused specialty section offering accommodations (hotels, resorts, pensions/camping), domestic and international packages, airline tickets/airtels, tickets/passes/local tours, and rental cars. It expanded into overseas travel services starting in 2022.

R.LUX is a vertical service operated by Coupang, focusing on luxury beauty. A portmanteau of "Rocket" and "Luxury," it aims to provide a unique shopping experience by combining Rocket Delivery's speed with the prestige of luxury beauty brands. R.LUX was launched in October of last year and operates a dedicated app.

Following the announcement, consumer criticism has grown regarding the scale and content of the compensation. One X (formerly Twitter) user wrote, "Aren't Coupang Travel and R.LUX just for show, making the actual compensation only 5,000 Korean won?" Another user commented, "Breaking down the compensation plan, the actual compensation is 10,000 Korean won, and the rest are promotional coupons."

Critics also argue the compensation amount itself is insufficient. In past similar personal information leaks, courts have set compensation at 100,000 Korean won per person. In 2014, the court ruled that KB Kookmin, NH Nonghyup, and Lotte Card, which leaked 100 million pieces of personal information including names, resident registration numbers, and card numbers, should pay up to 100,000 Korean won per person. Similar rulings of 100,000 Korean won per person were made in the 2016 Interpark and 2024 Modetour Network cases. In April of this year, the Korea Consumer Dispute Settlement Commission recommended SK Telecom, which suffered a personal information leak, to compensate 100,000 Korean won per person.

However, some evaluate Coupang's plan as the best effort possible. According to Coupang's internal investigation, only around 3,000 consumer accounts were actually leaked, with no evidence of external third-party leaks. Nonetheless, considering consumer anxiety, the company set compensation for over 33 million people.

Coupang's compensation announcement came ahead of a joint hearing scheduled to start on the 30th. Coupang Chairman Kim Bom-suk also released an apology statement, acknowledging inadequate initial responses and cooperation with the government's investigation. The statement did not mention attendance at the hearing, and Coupang submitted a non-attendance reason citing a pre-scheduled commitment to the National Assembly.

Coupang's 1.685 Trillion Won Compensation Plan Criticized