Coupang Rejects Consumer Dispute Mediation Proposal to Compensate 100,000 Won Per Person

Coupang has reportedly rejected a mediation proposal from the Korea Consumer Agency's Consumer Dispute Mediation Committee, which called on the company to pay 100,000 won per person in compensation to customers affected by a personal data leak late last year.

On September 11, Coupang submitted a written statement to the Consumer Dispute Mediation Committee indicating its refusal to accept the mediation proposal.

Coupang explained, "After reviewing the mediation proposal, we concluded that it is ultimately difficult to accept." The company added, "This is a cautious decision made after comprehensively considering the preemptive efforts we have made thus far, as well as the internal and external ripple effects of accepting the proposal."

The mediation committee reviewed the case after 50 consumers filed for collective dispute mediation regarding last year's personal data leak incident, and recognized Coupang's liability to pay damages for emotional distress.

If Coupang had accepted the mediation proposal, victims who did not participate in the collective dispute mediation could also have been made eligible for the same compensation, which would have required paying approximately 3.7 trillion won in damages.

It is interpreted that Coupang decided it could not accept the mediation proposal because it has already implemented voluntary compensation measures amounting to some 1.6 trillion won, such as providing 50,000 won shopping vouchers per person to the 33.7 million individuals whose personal information was leaked.

The Joint Action for Creating a Safe Coupang, which includes organizations such as People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, held a press conference today and criticized Coupang's rejection of the mediation recommendation, calling it "impertinent" and stating that it amounts to an intent to "fight it out with victims through civil lawsuits regarding additional liabilities."

Reported by Lee Hyeon-yeong | Video by Lee Da-in | Design by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.