Coupang Inc. Chairman Bom Kim issued his first public verbal apology for a data breach that occurred three months ago, as the security incident triggered a customer exodus that sent quarterly revenue and operating profit into simultaneous decline.
"I apologize for the concerns and inconvenience caused to our customers by the data security incident," Kim said during the company's earnings conference call on the 27th. "Nothing is more serious at Coupang than failing to meet our customers' expectations, and we will certainly do better."
While Kim had released a written apology in December following the breach, this marks his first verbal apology in a public forum.
According to Coupang Inc.'s annual report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, fourth-quarter operating profit plummeted 97% year-over-year to 41.15 billion won ($8 million) from 435.3 billion won ($312 million). Operating margin fell to just 0.09%. The company swung to a net loss of 37.7 billion won ($26 million), reflecting customer defections following the data breach disclosed on November 27.
Full-year revenue rose 14% to a record 49.12 trillion won ($34.53 billion), though the company fell short of the closely watched 50 trillion won milestone.
