Online Retailer Coupang Owns Up to Big Blunder. The Stock Falls 9%. -- Barrons.com

Dow Jones12-01

By Adam Clark

South Korean online retailer Coupang has been having a pretty good year, but that looks set to change after a huge data leak sent its U.S.-listed stock tumbling.

Coupang stock was down 9% in premarket trading in New York, after the company apologized over the breach of 33.7 million customer accounts.

"We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience and concern caused to our customers," Coupang CEO Park Dae-jun posted on the company's website on Sunday, in a statement translated by Barron's using online tools.

Someone gained unauthorized access to customer information from June of this year up until recently, including names, email addresses, phone numbers, and certain order information, according to the company. However, login details and payment information weren't breached.

Coupang said it would cooperate with Korean authorities, amid local media reports that a former employee from China was suspected of being behind the breach. Coupang didn't immediately respond to a request for comment early on Monday.

The leak is a major embarrassment for the company, which is headquartered in the U.S. but does the vast majority of its business in South Korea. Its e-commerce dominance is often compared with Amazon.com in other markets. The stock had gained 28% this year so far through to Friday's close.

Write to Adam Clark at adam.clark@barrons.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 01, 2025 06:53 ET (11:53 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

At the request of the copyright holder, you need to log in to view this content

Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.

Comments

We need your insight to fill this gap
Leave a comment