배경훈 부총리 겸 과기정통부 장관이 11일 국회에서 열린 과학기술정보방송통신위원회 전체회의에서 의원 질의에 답변하고 있다. 연합뉴스
South Korea’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT, Byeong-hoon Bae, has expressed skepticism regarding the account provided by Coupang regarding a recent data breach, specifically the claim that information from only 3,000 accounts was compromised.
Speaking at a meeting of the Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Committee in the National Assembly on February 11, 2026, Bae stated he plans to lodge a protest with both Coupang Korea and its U.S. Parent company. He said, “I also find it unconvincing,” in response to questions about whether Coupang had downplayed the scale of the incident.
A joint public-private investigation team determined on February 10, 2026, that a former Coupang employee had accessed and leaked the personal information of 33.67 million customers, including names and email addresses. The investigation also revealed 148 million instances of access to pages containing customer delivery information, including names, phone numbers, and addresses.
Coupang Inc. Maintained its original position in a statement, asserting that a former Chinese national employee had “inappropriately accessed data from over 33 million customer accounts and stored information from 3,000 of those accounts.” The company claimed all digital forensic evidence aligned with the attacker’s statement that the 3,000 accounts were stored and then deleted.
Bae questioned Coupang’s account, stating, “Coupang submitted a report stating that the attacker only leaked (stored) 3,000 pieces of data, but we only received a partial report, not the full version.” He added, “Coupang isn’t clearly explaining whether the 33.67 million records were stored on a hard drive or in the cloud.”
He further stated that a forensic analysis of storage devices provided by Coupang failed to uncover evidence related to the data breach. This led him to question the credibility of Coupang’s claims.
Bae indicated that he had reviewed the investigation team’s findings prior to their public release on February 10. He suggested that Coupang’s headquarters was communicating different information and that the company may be responding to protect its corporate interests and U.S. Shareholders, potentially engaging in lobbying efforts.
Responding to a question about whether the government had taken discriminatory action against Coupang, Bae stated, “We are proceeding in accordance with the law and principles.” He also dismissed suggestions that the timing of the investigation’s release was influenced by activity in the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, stating, “Our intention was to release it as soon as possible, and the timing of the release was not considered.”
