Coupang to Pay $1.3 Billion to Users After Data Breach in One of South Korea’s Largest Consumer Redress Plans

South Korean e-commerce leader Coupang said Thursday it will provide about $1.3 billion in compensation to customers affected by a recent data breach, one of the largest consumer redress programs ever announced by a company in the country.

The compensation will give each affected user a $37 shopping credit, regardless of whether they hold a paid membership, after personal information was exposed in a breach disclosed late last year.

Harold Rogers, Coupang’s interim chief executive for Korea, apologized publicly and acknowledged the customer distress caused by the incident. “We deeply regret the concern and anxiety this data breach has caused our customers,” Rogers said in a statement. “As part of our responsibility to our customers, we have decided to implement this compensation plan.”

The company said it will begin distributing credits on Jan. 15 to roughly 33.7 million user accounts that were notified of the breach in November. Compensation will apply equally to paying “Wow” members and nonmembers, and will also include former users who closed their accounts but received a breach notification.

Each customer will be able to use the $37 credit in one transaction across Coupang’s various services, including its core online marketplace, same-day delivery platform, cross-border shopping, food delivery, travel bookings and luxury goods offerings. Eligible users can confirm compensation through the Coupang mobile app starting Jan. 15 on a rolling basis.

Rogers said Coupang plans to reinforce its data security systems and rebuild customer confidence. “Coupang will take full responsibility and continue to put customer-centric principles at the core of our operations,” he said. “We aim to emerge from this incident as a company our customers can trust.”

The breach and the sizable compensation plan arrive amid intensifying global scrutiny of how technology and e-commerce companies protect consumer data and respond to cybersecurity failures. For Coupang, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and competes in one of the world’s most digitized retail markets, the payout represents both a costly remediation and a public test of its commitment to data stewardship.