South Korea's Personal Information Dispute Mediation Committee initiated large-scale collective dispute resolution proceedings against Coupang over a data breach on Wednesday.
The committee announced it approved the commencement of two collective dispute resolution cases filed by users against the e-commerce giant at its plenary session.
A total of 1,676 individuals have joined the proceedings. The first group of 50 applicants led by a plaintiff surnamed Ko filed on December 11 last year, followed by an additional 1,626 applicants led by a plaintiff surnamed Kim on December 23.
Including a separate general dispute resolution case filed by 866 individuals led by a plaintiff surnamed Jo, the total number of individual and collective dispute resolution applicants against Coupang has reached 2,542.
However, the actual resolution process is expected to take considerable time. Under the committee's operating regulations, mediation proceedings will be suspended until the Personal Information Protection Commission completes its ongoing investigation into Coupang's data breach.
The public announcement of the collective dispute resolution and recruitment of additional participants will proceed immediately after the commission announces its investigation results.
"We solemnly recognize the importance of personal information protection and will do our best to provide substantive relief to those affected," said Kang Young-soo, chairman of the Dispute Mediation Committee.