Backlash Over Coupang's '50,000 Won Per Person' Compensation Plan... Citizens Express Frustration

[Financial News] Coupang's announcement to compensate all victims of a personal information leak with 50,000 won worth of coupons has sparked criticism among citizens, who call it a token gesture. The company's compensation plan has failed to quell public outcry and is expected to fuel further controversy.
According to industry sources on the 4th, Coupang will provide coupons totaling 50,000 won to 33.7 million accounts notified of the data breach. The breakdown includes: 5,000 won for Coupang's main marketplace, 5,000 won for Coupang Eats, 20,000 won for Coupang Travel, and 20,000 won for R.LUX products. Distribution will begin on the 15th and will include withdrawn members.
Many citizens have criticized the compensation plan as inadequate. Since the coupons are only valid for Coupang's own services, the compensation is seen as ineffective in both scale and method. In reality, only 5,000 won can be freely used on Coupang. Because the coupons are divided among various services, customers are forced to use multiple Coupang services to redeem the full amount. Cho, a 28-year-old graduate student, commented, "I live alone and deleted all my payment methods and addresses after the breach, but the compensation falls far short of the inconvenience and risk caused by the leak."
There is also backlash that the plan is a marketing tactic to promote less popular offerings such as Coupang Travel and R.LUX. Since these platforms mainly sell high-priced items, the 20,000 won coupons are insufficient to purchase most products, meaning customers would need to spend hundreds of thousands of won out of pocket to use them.
Another issue is that withdrawn members must re-register to receive compensation. Although Coupang stated that former members are eligible, it is impossible to restore deleted accounts or data, so re-registration is required to use the coupons. Kim, a 31-year-old office worker who left Coupang over the incident, said, "There are plenty of platforms that deliver daily necessities quickly, so I have no intention of rejoining just to use the coupons. Coupang's response has been deeply disappointing."
Experts say that despite the announcement, class action lawsuits by data breach victims are likely to proceed without issue. Under civil law, damages are generally to be paid in cash. Most agree that the compensation plan is insufficient to provide meaningful relief. Some even argue that Coupang's offer is an implicit admission of fault, which could strengthen the case for liability.
Koo Seung Jung, an attorney at ILLO Law Firm who is leading a class action lawsuit against Coupang, stated, "Coupang's compensation plan is essentially a marketing tool to promote its own services. It is unlikely that recipients will withdraw from the lawsuit simply because they received coupons."

jyseo@fnnews.com Seo Ji-yoon Reporter