The Consumer Dispute Mediation Committee under the Korea Consumer Agency announced Monday that it has decided to initiate collective dispute resolution proceedings against Coupang (CPNG, NYSE) over a data breach affecting 33.7 million accounts. On the same day, the committee also opened collective dispute resolution proceedings related to Lotte Rental's bundled rental product sales.
Coupang announced on November 29 last year that it had confirmed a breach exposing information from 33.7 million accounts. In response, 50 consumers filed for collective dispute resolution on December 8, demanding compensation for damages caused by the data breach.
The committee had deferred deliberation on initiating proceedings, accepting the applicants' request that additional fact-finding was needed given that multiple government agencies were investigating the circumstances and scale of Coupang's data breach. However, Coupang subsequently reported to the Personal Information Protection Commission that delivery address information from approximately 165,000 additional accounts had been leaked. A joint public-private investigation team led by the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) also confirmed that approximately 33.67 million user records — including names and email addresses — had been exposed through Coupang's "Edit My Information" page. The committee resumed deliberation on initiating proceedings in February this year.
The committee also announced Monday that it would initiate collective dispute resolution proceedings against Lotte Rental. Lotte Rental operated "Myomi," a consumer goods rental platform, from August 2017 to August 2023, selling bundled products combining "goods" such as electronics with "services" such as funeral plans and travel packages. Between December 2020 and November 2022, consumers signed up for these bundled products after being told they would receive "free electronics as gifts" and that there would be "no rental fees."
However, consumers claim the actual product structure required them to pay installments far exceeding the retail price of the electronics. A total of 221 consumers filed for collective dispute resolution in February this year, seeking compensation on the grounds that they entered into contracts without properly understanding this structure.
The committee plans to develop mediation proposals through expert consultations, with compensation plans potentially ready as early as early June. Mediation will be established if the businesses involved in each case accept the proposals. Established mediation carries the same legal effect as a court settlement.