Coupang customer exodus after data leak likely limited: J.P. Morgan

The potential customer exodus from Coupang in the wake of a massive personal information leak is likely to be "limited," according to J.P. Morgan.

Pedestrians walk past a Coupang logistics center in Seoul on Dec. 2. [YONHAP]

The potential customer exodus from Coupang in the wake of a massive personal information leak is likely to be "limited," according to J.P. Morgan.

"We expect potential customer losses to be limited due to CPNG's unrivaled market positioning and Korean customers being seemingly less sensitive to data breach issues," J.P. Morgan analysts wrote in a note, according to a report by Reuters on Tuesday, referring to the company by its New York Stock Exchange ticker symbol.

However, the investment bank noted that Coupang may offer a voluntary compensation package and the Korean government could impose fines, which could lead to a “sizable one-off loss” and weigh on investor sentiment in the short term.

Coupang announced on Nov. 18 that the personal information of around 4,500 accounts had been exposed without authorization. Eleven days later, the company confirmed that information from 33.7 million user accounts had been leaked — a figure about 7,500 times greater than initially reported.

The company said the exposed data included names, email addresses, phone numbers and addresses stored in users’ delivery address books, as well as some order information. Payment information and credit card numbers, which are managed separately and login credentials were not affected and therefore no specific action is required from customers regarding their accounts, according to Coupang.

Still, the breadth of the exposure — estimated to affect nearly all of Coupang’s customer base — and the delayed disclosure of the full scope have raised significant concerns among users.

Coupang shares plunged 7.92 percent on Monday on New York's main bourse following the disclosure, closing at $26.21 per share. Shares inched up Tuesday by 0.23 percent.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom. BY HYEON YE-SEUL, YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]