‘Compensation That Insults Victims’... Outrage Over Coupang’s 50,000-Won Coupon Laden With Restrictions

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[Financial News] Coupang’s 50,000-won coupon, which it announced would be distributed from the 15th as compensation for the large-scale Personal Information Leakage incident, is drawing fresh criticism. With restrictions such as a three-month validity period and no refunds on remaining balances, consumers are complaining that it is essentially just a marketing tool to induce re-enrollment.
According to industry sources, Coupang will sequentially distribute purchase vouchers worth 50,000 won per person to victims of the Personal Information Leakage starting on the 15th. The 50,000-won voucher will be split into 5,000 won each for Coupang and Coupang Eats, and 20,000 won each for Coupang Travel and R.LUX, a luxury shopping service.
However, there are many restrictions on how they can be used. The vouchers are valid only until April 15, and any unused vouchers will automatically expire after that date. In addition, only one voucher can be applied per product, and no refunds will be given for any remaining balance. For example, if a customer purchases a 15,000-won product on Coupang Travel using a 20,000-won coupon, the remaining 5,000 won simply disappears.
The vouchers also cannot be used everywhere. On Coupang Travel, they can only be used for domestic accommodation or domestic ticket products, and not for overseas travel products. Mobile coupons such as those for chicken, pizza, or coffee sold on Coupang Travel also cannot be purchased with these vouchers.
The 5,000-won purchase voucher that can be used on Coupang Eats, the food delivery app, cannot be applied to takeout orders.
Coupang had already faced criticism that the 50,000-won coupon, announced on the 29th of last month as a compensation plan, was merely a promotional tool. Since former customers who closed their accounts must rejoin to receive the purchase vouchers, critics have argued that it is effectively designed to induce re-enrollment.
As dissatisfaction grows over Coupang’s inappropriate response, the so-called “Talpang” movement—users leaving Coupang—is gaining momentum. According to app analytics service Mobile Index, Coupang’s daily active users (DAU) stood at 14.8 million as of the end of last month, down 17.7% from the beginning of the month. Payment volume also fell 7.7% in the third week of December compared with the first week of November last year.
y27k@fnnews.com Seo Yoon-kyung Reporter