Court rejects injunction lawsuit by Coupang over data breach-related fine

A Seoul court has dismissed a legal challenge brought by e-commerce giant Coupang against a substantial fine of approximately 423 billion won ($315 million) imposed by the Personal Information Protection Commission. The court ruled that there is no reason to overturn the fine, which was handed down in June for privacy violations, including a massive data breach affecting over 37 million users.

This fine represents the highest ever imposed by the regulator on an individual company, according to the commission. The regulatory action followed a data breach disclosed by Coupang in November last year, which exposed personal information such as names, phone numbers, and delivery details of users in South Korea. Under the personal information protection law, companies that experience data leaks can face fines of up to 3 percent of their annual sales, although sales unrelated to the violation can be excluded. Coupang's total sales averaged about 36 trillion won over the past three years.