SEOUL, January 6 (AJP) - Coupang, South Korea's leading e-commerce giant, has offered just 50,000 Korean won (about US$35) in compensation to customers affected by its massive data breach detected in late last year.
It is a meager amount, considering that sensitive personal information including home addresses and phone numbers, was exposed.
As the breach occurred on a platform widely used to purchase daily necessities such as bottled water, following data leaks at telecom companies, many consumers now fear that their information could be stolen again.
Similar incidents in the financial and banking sectors have further eroded public trust. Following a large-scale hacking incident at Lotte Card last summer, Shinhan Card also belatedly detected a massive data breach affecting 190,000 users.
Making matters worse, Shinhan Card failed for more than three years to detect that its employee was involved in the breach, and then waited nearly 20 days to inform affected customers after becoming aware of the leak. This has raised questions about whether companies have strengthened their internal security by learning from previous data breaches at other firms.
Upbit, South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchange, also suffered a hacking incident involving hundreds of billions of won but faced no penalties, since virtual assets are not subject to regulation due to a lack of relevant laws.
The industry says hacking methods have become more sophisticated, and it can take up to five years to identify hackers.
Experts say these incidents reflect both failed internal security and lax supervision by financial authorities, arguing that government watchdogs such as the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service should also bear responsibility.
Authorities say individual misconduct is difficult to detect in advance, making thorough preparation of preventive measures the only viable way to prevent any future breaches.
As financial services become more complex, protecting consumer data matters more than ever.
Financial firms, as private companies driven by short-term profits, often treat security as an afterthought. For this reason, experts argue that regulators should hold them accountable with significant financial penalties.
* This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP.
It is a meager amount, considering that sensitive personal information including home addresses and phone numbers, was exposed.
As the breach occurred on a platform widely used to purchase daily necessities such as bottled water, following data leaks at telecom companies, many consumers now fear that their information could be stolen again.
Similar incidents in the financial and banking sectors have further eroded public trust. Following a large-scale hacking incident at Lotte Card last summer, Shinhan Card also belatedly detected a massive data breach affecting 190,000 users.
Making matters worse, Shinhan Card failed for more than three years to detect that its employee was involved in the breach, and then waited nearly 20 days to inform affected customers after becoming aware of the leak. This has raised questions about whether companies have strengthened their internal security by learning from previous data breaches at other firms.
Upbit, South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchange, also suffered a hacking incident involving hundreds of billions of won but faced no penalties, since virtual assets are not subject to regulation due to a lack of relevant laws.
The industry says hacking methods have become more sophisticated, and it can take up to five years to identify hackers.
Experts say these incidents reflect both failed internal security and lax supervision by financial authorities, arguing that government watchdogs such as the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service should also bear responsibility.
Authorities say individual misconduct is difficult to detect in advance, making thorough preparation of preventive measures the only viable way to prevent any future breaches.
As financial services become more complex, protecting consumer data matters more than ever.
Financial firms, as private companies driven by short-term profits, often treat security as an afterthought. For this reason, experts argue that regulators should hold them accountable with significant financial penalties.
* This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP.
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