Coupang Illegally Collected Online Activity Data of 11.17 Million Users; 'Ad Hijacking' Persists

[Anchor]

A new investigation has revealed that Coupang illegally collected the online activity records of over 11 million members. The company gathered information on which websites users visited. Furthermore, so-called "ad hijacking," which forcibly redirects users to Coupang even without them clicking on an ad, was found to be still occurring.

Reporter Park Jae-hyun has the story.

[Reporter]

"Coupang Partners" is a program where users receive a portion of the revenue when products are sold after they post advertising links or banners on their social media or blogs.

[Coupang Partners Promotional Video: I posted masks and hygiene products on the blog I used to run as a hobby. It generated high revenue.]

The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) has additionally uncovered that Coupang used "Coupang Partners" to illegally collect and store the online activity records of 11.17 million members between December 2024 and February of this year.

The structure works such that when a user accesses a website or app where one of four types of banners, including "Coupang Dynamic Banners," is installed, a specific algorithm runs and communicates with Coupang's servers. This allows online activity records such as access paths, timestamps, and IP addresses to be transferred to Coupang without the user's separate consent.

[Yang Cheong-sam / Secretary General of the Personal Information Protection Commission: Even if you do not click on the Coupang banner, the URL, PC ID, and device identifier are connected to Coupang at the moment you access the domain...]

The PIPC explains that if online activity records are accumulated and linked over a long period, it is possible to infer sensitive information, including personal interests, health status, political leanings, and religious beliefs.

Consequently, the PIPC has imposed a fine of approximately 201.1 billion won on Coupang.

So-called "ad hijacking," where users are dragged to Coupang even without clicking on an advertisement, was also found to be openly taking place.

[Oh Tae-sik / Gangseo-gu, Seoul: I was searching for something I wanted, but something else popped up instead, which was not a good experience.]

Although Coupang stated it would sanction ad hijacking starting in 2022, it was issued a corrective order after it was found to have applied additional commission rates to some partners instead of terminating their accounts.

Coupang expressed regret, stating that its proactive measures to prevent secondary damage and explanations based on clear facts were not sufficiently reflected, and hinted at potential legal action.

(Reported by Kim Hyun-sang and Kim Nam-sung | Video edited by Ahn Yeo-jin | Graphics by Choi Jae-young)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.