The fallout from the personal information leak at Coupang is triggering a "Leaving Coupang" movement, which now shows signs of spreading to small business owners and SMEs that sell on the platform. As concerns mount that a full-scale customer exodus would directly hit the sales of smaller sellers, related organizations are closely monitoring the situation and preparing response measures.

On the 3rd, in front of the Coupang headquarters in Songpa-gu, Seoul, participants shouted slogans demanding apology and responsibility at the "Coupang Personal Information Leakage Collective Dispute Mediation Application Kick-off Press Conference" hosted by the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, the Committee on Livelihood Economy of the Lawyers for a Democratic Society, and the Korea Consumer Federation. As a large-scale class action lawsuit movement against Coupang, whose customer information of 33.7 million people was leaked, is gaining momentum, these civic groups also decided to gather victims and apply for dispute mediation. Yonhap News

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On the 30th of last month, an emergency ministerial meeting related to Coupang was held at the Government Seoul Office Building, where Daejun Park, CEO of Coupang, publicly apologized as he left the meeting room. Photo by Yonhap News

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A massive personal information leak involving over 30 million records occurred at Coupang. This scale surpasses the economically active population of 29.69 million, making it the worst leak incident in history. On the 1st, following Coupang's apology text regarding the personal information leak, a Coupang signboard installed at Coupang headquarters is visible. Photo by Yoon Dongju

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According to industry sources on December 4, a wave of Coupang customer withdrawals is raising concerns that the impact could spread to small business owners and SMEs in the form of declining sales. On social media and online communities, posts such as "Coupang withdrawal certification" and "How to leave Coupang" are being rapidly shared. Some users are even calling for a boycott of Coupang purchases. As the cause of this incident has been attributed to internal control failures and poor server security, the narrative of "Coupang's responsibility" is quickly gaining traction.

According to Korea Credit Data, 75% of Coupang's sellers are small business owners and SMEs, making the platform a vital online sales channel for micro-businesses. If the fallout from this incident reaches these small businesses, it could go beyond a simple data breach and lead to weakened competitiveness and reduced sales channels for small business owners.

A Coupang logistics center in downtown Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

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On the 1st, items to be delivered were piled up in a Coupang vehicle in downtown Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News.

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Mr. Lee, who sells electronic accessories in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, said, "About 80% of my online sales came from Coupang through direct seller delivery. On weekends, I usually get at least 120 orders a day, but after the news of the data leak broke last Sunday, my orders dropped to 54 that day, and this week it's been averaging only about 40 per day." Ms. Han, who sells kitchenware in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, said, "Not only has the number of orders decreased, but there have also been many inquiries about canceling already placed orders. I also sell on my own website and other online stores, but this incident has made me realize that I need to diversify my online platforms even more."

As the exodus of Coupang's paid "Wow Membership" accelerates, it is expected that franchisees on the Coupang Eats delivery platform will inevitably suffer losses as well. While Coupang's official position is that this incident is unrelated to Coupang Eats and Coupang Play, the Wow Membership provides benefits across Coupang, Coupang Eats, and Coupang Play, so cancellations could have a ripple effect on all these platforms.

An official from the National Franchisee Association said, "It may be too early to observe a visible drop in sales due to this incident, but there are already voices saying that the number of order calls has decreased since the leak and concerns about potential future losses. Many are lamenting that this is yet another blow on top of an already difficult economic situation."

Related organizations say they are closely monitoring the damage and seeking countermeasures. A representative from the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprises said, "Since Coupang accounts for an overwhelming share of small business sales, if losses materialize, small business owners will be hit hard. We are currently listening to cases of damage from small businesses and discussing ways to respond."