South Korea hits Coupang with record $409 million fine over data breach

South Korea's Personal Information Protection Commission fined Coupang a record 624.7 billion won after finding that a former employee stole an authentication signing key and exfiltrated data for over 33 million members and at least 4.3 million non-members; the breach exposed names, contact details, addresses, emails, apartment entry codes and order histories. The investigation also uncovered covert tracking of ~11.2 million users via an affiliate program, hijack ads, unauthorized blacklisting and deletion of access logs by Coupang, leading to criminal referrals, resumed civil claims, and ongoing legal and regulatory scrutiny.