Following a large-scale data breach, it has been confirmed that foreign developers, including Chinese nationals, have worked behind the Coupang platform. However, Coupang stated, "We hire talent from various nationalities, but it is difficult to disclose the nationality distribution of our employees," and has remained silent regarding the hiring status of foreign developers. IT Talent Hired from China, Working in Beijing and Shanghai According to Yonhap News on the 4th, job postings related to Coupang have been appearing for several years on 'Maimai,' often referred to as the Chinese version of LinkedIn. Additionally, there are numerous posts from headhunters or those appearing to work in the IT industry, offering to recommend candidates to Coupang. These recruiters highlighted benefits of working at Coupang, such as no overtime, flexible hours, remote work options, various perks, stable year-end bonuses, high base salaries, low competition, ample annual leave, housing fund supplements, and commercial health insurance. A referral post uploaded in April this year classified Coupang's open positions as senior or regular backend engineers, data scientists, senior product managers, and lead interpreters, with work locations listed as Beijing, Shanghai, and Seoul. Coupang previously revealed that the former employee responsible for the recent data breach was an authentication system developer. However, the IT industry explained that, without knowledge of Coupang's internal team structure and job assignments, it is difficult to determine whether he belonged to any of these roles. Coupang’s E-commerce System Resembles China’s Alibaba More Than America’s Amazon While some attribute Coupang’s large-scale hiring of Chinese developers to lower labor costs, a more convincing analysis is that Coupang’s e-commerce system more closely resembles that of Alibaba Group or JD.com in China than Amazon in the United States. Unlike Amazon, which primarily acts as a marketplace connecting sellers and buyers, Coupang directly purchases products, stores them in its own warehouses, and manages the entire delivery process through a vertically integrated system. Therefore, while Amazon’s approach focuses on IT systems for handling traffic, product recommendation algorithms, and cloud-based software connections, Coupang and JD.com are optimized for efficiently managing massive physical assets such as warehouses and delivery operations. An IT industry insider in Korea noted, "Chinese developers, who have experienced large-scale logistics automation ahead of Korea, likely had lower labor costs and a better understanding of the development systems Coupang needed. However, Coupang’s rapid expansion in a relatively short period may have left gaps in user data protection." A security industry expert expressed concern, saying, "While certain industries may prefer developers from specific countries, China is known for active state-sponsored cyber activities. Entrusting a significant portion of development to them could be like letting the fox guard the henhouse." moon@fnnews.com Moon Young-jin Reporter