[Reporter’s notebook] ‘Expose’ Coupang’s actual chief

By Kim Kyung-wook, enterprise and business editor

It’s in occasions of disaster that we present our true colours. That’s true not solely of individuals, but in addition of firms.

That’s why the leak of the non-public data of 33.7 million clients at Korean e-commerce big Coupang has been so instructive. It offers us an inside peek at what issues are actually like on the firm.

Setting apart the shoddy safety protocols and inner controls, the corporate’s rush to downplay the leak and the cussed silence of its de facto boss drive us to confront the true character of this firm that has grown right into a retail behemoth.

Regardless of Coupang’s claims about being revolutionary, the fact seems to be far tawdrier.

Probably the most baffling a part of the entire episode is the hands-off perspective of Kim Bom-suk (referred to as Bom Kim within the US), chairman of Coupang Inc., the mum or dad firm of the Korean e-commerce agency. He has stayed mum a couple of catastrophic safety failure impacting a complete nation, with out exhibiting any indicators of entrepreneurship or organizational management.

Kim is shielding himself with a figurehead CEO whereas persevering with to train final management over the corporate. He’s the efficient proprietor, with 74.3% voting rights in Coupang Inc., which itself has a 100% stake in Coupang Korea.

Coupang’s response to the leak has been flaky at finest. At first, it claimed the non-public data had solely been “uncovered,” implying a decrease stage of duty than a leak. It additionally took down the apology from the entrance web page of its web site simply two days after posting it on Nov. 30.

As well as, it took a full 17 days for Coupang to appropriate the phrase “publicity” to “leak.” In impact, Coupang makes use of “in a single day supply” for concealing inconvenient information however “abroad delivery” for correcting inaccurate data.

These aren’t the one points at hand.

Regardless of being the goal of public fury, Coupang retains attempting to muddy the waters. In a press release on its web site on Dec. 7, Coupang added the caveat that the assertion was “a measure taken on the request of the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Private Info Safety Fee and the Nationwide Police Company.”

Coupang was mainly admitting it had up to date its earlier declare concerning the “publicity” of private data to the extra correct time period “leak” and eventually disclosed the particular classes of leaked data on the request of presidency companies.

The dictionary definition of “request” (yocheong, in Korean) is “asking for one thing that’s wanted.” However these companies weren’t “asking” Coupang to take these corrective measures — quite, they had been “recommending” it achieve this beneath related legal guidelines. These legal guidelines stipulate that anyone who receives such a “advice” should make a good-faith effort to implement it.

Coupang’s assertion additionally contained the next declare: “After a complete survey, the Nationwide Police Company introduced that, to this point, there have been no obvious instances of secondary injury utilizing the data leaked at Coupang.”

Because the object of the “complete survey” shouldn’t be specified, this declare might simply be taken to imply that the police have surveyed all of the victims of the Coupang private data leak.

However the police haven’t carried out that sort of survey. Slightly, they’ve solely reviewed all studies of smishing and voice phishing made for the reason that Coupang leak.

At this level, these phrase selections are beginning to look very suspicious and should replicate the involvement of Kim Bom-suk himself. In any case, previous reporting exhibits that Kim has expressed annoyance at firm workers who used phrases that conveyed the unsuitable that means and ordered them to appropriate their diction. That will clarify why Coupang has insisted on calling its leak of shoppers’ private knowledge an “publicity” for the higher a part of three weeks and twisted bulletins from authorities companies to make itself look higher.  

However right here’s the rub: There merely isn’t one other platform to take the place of such a rotten firm. In contrast to through the latest hacks at telecommunications corporations, customers don’t actually have the choice to modify service suppliers with regards to Coupang. 

Regardless of its shoddy administration and irresponsible and conceited perspective, Koreans are in a chokehold with regards to the Coupang “ecosystem.” That’s why most individuals don’t count on Coupang to vary — it by no means has when confronted with scandals up to now, in any case. As all the time, all it has to do is anticipate the mud to settle. 

That makes the federal government’s position extra necessary than ever. Whereas Coupang has ballooned in a regulatory blind spot, straddling between the US and Korea, the hurt to customers is rising. The federal government wants to carry Coupang accountable for this fiasco and use this as a possibility to strengthen oversight of e-commerce platforms. Solely then can we forestall future messes like this one, and solely then can we “expose” Kim.

What occurs subsequent isn’t as much as Coupang, it’s as much as us. 

Please direct questions or feedback to [english@hani.co.kr]