Former employee accessed basic data from millions of accounts Coupang identified a former staff member who used stolen security keys to reach basic personal information from roughly 33 million customer accounts, yet only about 3,000 customers’ data were actually saved before being deleted [1][2][3][4]. The accessed records included names, email addresses, phone numbers and home addresses, but excluded payment details, login credentials or customs clearance numbers [1][2][3][4]. The employee confessed after forensic evidence linked the breach to his actions [1][2][3][4].

No evidence of third‑party transmission or sensitive data exposure Internal reviews across all reports found no sign that any of the retrieved information was transmitted to external parties [1][2][3][4]. Coupang emphasized that payment information and other sensitive identifiers remained untouched, limiting the incident to basic identifiers [1][2][3][4]. The company secured all devices involved, including the hard drive that stored the temporary data [1][2][3][4].

Coupang recovered, deleted and reinforced security controls After confirming the breach, Coupang recovered all saved data and permanently deleted the files to prevent further access [1][2][3][4]. The firm locked down the compromised hardware and announced additional security enhancements to access controls and monitoring [1][3][4]. It communicated that the incident was fully contained and that no ongoing risk to customers exists [1][2][3][4].

Government‑private joint investigation continues amid dispute over unilateral claims South Korean authorities formed a private‑public joint task force in late November to investigate the breach affecting tens of millions of users, holding its inaugural meeting on Dec. 23 [1]. Officials criticized Coupang’s early press release as a unilateral claim, noting that investigation results have not yet been released [1]. An emergency meeting involving the presidential office was reported in connection with the case [2].