Over 2,300 people join lawsuit against Coupang

Over 2,300 people have applied to join a US class-action lawsuit against Coupang following a major data leak, according to Daeryun Law Firm.

Coupang, a New York-listed ecommerce firm based in South Korea, confirmed on November 29 that personal information from 33.7 million customer accounts was exposed, far more than the 4,500 accounts initially reported.

Most applicants for the lawsuit are Korean nationals with US citizenship, local residents, and consumers in South Korea.

Daeryun’s US subsidiary, SJKP Law Firm, plans to file the lawsuit in the US Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York by year-end.

The compromised data includes names, phone numbers, email addresses, and delivery addresses, but Coupang said payment and login details were not affected.

The US case will proceed separately from ongoing legal action in Korea.

🔗 Source: Yonhap

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Cross-border litigation could add to Coupang’s financial exposure beyond potential Korean regulatory fines

South Korean regulators can fine Coupang up to 1 trillion won, based on penalties of up to 3% of annual revenue 1, which some reports put at about $681 million 2, while the U.S. class-action lawsuit adds uncapped liability.
Over 2,300 people have applied to join the U.S. class action. Most are Korean nationals with U.S. citizenship, U.S. residents, or consumers in South Korea, and they can seek damages under U.S. class-action law. Some Korean lawsuits seek Korean won (KRW) 200,000–300,000 (~$150–225) per person 1.
Coupang’s past Korean data breaches led to KRW 1.6 billion (~$1.2 million) in fines 1. Multi-million-dollar U.S. data breach settlements can outweigh that.

Post-breach fraud risks and ways ecommerce and logistics players can stand out with stronger scam prevention

With 33.7 million phone numbers and addresses exposed 3, South Koreans face higher risk of smishing (SMS-based phishing) and delivery scams, as attackers now hold verified phone-address pairs from a trusted shopping platform.
Coupang warned customers to watch for impersonation scams 3. Rivals in ecommerce or logistics can stand out if they add SMS scam detection, with customer warnings.
Cybersecurity vendors that offer SMS filtering, scam-blocking apps, and consumer protection tools have a near-term opening. More than 500,000 users have joined online communities preparing lawsuits 1.