[News Today] Coupang under fire over compensation

[LEAD]
Coupang unveiled a consumer compensation plan one month after a massive data breach came to light.

It plans to give vouchers worth 50,000 won to all 33.7 million affected users.

But the compensation is split across different services, with smaller amounts for widely used platforms and larger sums for lesser-known ones.

[REPORT]
The core of the compensation plan is vouchers worth 50,000 won, or around 35 US dollars, for each customer.

Coupang said all 33.7 million users whose data has been leaked will receive it.

It said the compensation will cost 1.685 trillion won, some 1.17 billion dollars.

Compared to the 500 billion won compensation by SK Telecom when the USIM data of 23 million customers was leaked,

Coupang's offer appears more generous, but a closer look proves otherwise.

First of all, it's not an integrated voucher.

There are four types: 5,000 won each for Coupang’s main shopping site and Coupang Eats, and 20,000 won each for Coupang Travel and the luxury shopping platform R.LUX.

Small amounts are allocated for the most-used services and larger amounts for unfamiliar ones.

Lee Dong-geun / Seoul resident
I'm unfamiliar with them.

The compensation favoring them suggests Coupang is prioritizing its own interests.

The problem doesn't stop here.

It's the forced separate use.

While the travel voucher can be used for some travel products on the Coupang main site and the R.LUX voucher for some beauty and fashion goods on Coupang, basically the vouchers are meant to be used separately across different services.

If customers fail to use all four services, they won't use up the entire 50,000 won compensation.

Kim Yong-gyeom / Seoul resident
A compensation plan accessible to the public would be nice.

Woo Il-seok / Gyeongju resident
With such a meager sum, how can we buy a high-end product?

The civic group People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy labeled it a gimmick to increase market share.

The Korea National Council of Consumer Organizations said that Coupang is making a mockery of its consumers.

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