Coupang CEO Resigns Amid Massive South Korean Data Breach

Park Dae‑jun steps down, citing “grave responsibility” for the leak affecting millions

Coupang, South Korea’s leading e‑commerce platform, announced that its chief executive officer, Park Dae‑jun, will resign effective immediately. The decision comes in the wake of a massive data breach that exposed personal information belonging to approximately 34 million customers.

In an official statement, the company said Park is taking “grave responsibility” for the incident and will step aside to allow the organization to focus on remediation and restoring public trust.

The breach, discovered earlier this month, involved unauthorized access to user names, email addresses, phone numbers, and in some cases, partial payment details. Authorities have launched a thorough investigation, and the company is cooperating fully with regulators.

Industry analysts note that the breach could have significant repercussions for Coupang’s market reputation and its upcoming financial reports. “A data breach of this scale is unprecedented in the Korean e‑commerce sector,” said Lee Min‑ho, a technology analyst at Seoul‑based research firm Insight Korea.

Park Dae‑jun’s resignation marks a rare move in South Korean corporate culture, where top executives often remain in position despite operational failures. The board has pledged to appoint an interim leader while it conducts a comprehensive review of the company’s cybersecurity protocols.

Coupang has urged affected customers to monitor their accounts for suspicious activity and has offered free credit‑monitoring services for a limited period.