Ju Byung-gi, chairman of the Fair Trade Commission (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 12 (Korea Bizwire) – Ordering a temporary suspension of business operations at e-commerce giant Coupang Corp. may be possible, the head of South Korea’s antitrust watchdog said Monday, amid an ongoing investigation over a recent large-scale data breach at the U.S.-listed company.
“If an order is not implemented or if it is deemed insufficient to provide relief to affected consumers, a business suspension is also possible,” Ju Byung-gi, chairman of the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), said in a radio interview.
Coupang announced the results of its internal probe on Dec. 25, saying a former employee had stolen personal information from 33.7 million user accounts but saved data from only about 3,000 accounts, which, it claimed, was later deleted.
The science ministry quickly dismissed the findings as one-sided and an incomplete conclusion, stressing that a joint public-private investigation involving the ministry and the Personal Information Protection Commission has yet to be concluded.
Ju said the FTC was also examining other issues related to Coupang beyond the data breach, including its business practices.
He added that the FTC will soon announce the results of its deliberations on allegations that Coupang passed on losses incurred from sales at low prices to partner suppliers.
The Fair Trade Commission building in Sejong. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
(Yonhap)
