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Park Dae-jun, the head of Coupang, a leading online retailer in South Korea, has stepped down from his role. This resignation comes in the wake of a significant data breach that compromised the personal information of nearly 34 million customers.
After discovering the breach three weeks ago, Coupang announced Park’s resignation. The incident, which became public on November 18, prompted Park to leave his position, as stated in a translated company announcement.
Expressing his remorse, Park stated, “I deeply regret letting the public down with the recent data breach.” He further acknowledged his responsibility for both the incident and the recovery efforts, leading to his decision to resign from all his roles.
In response to Park’s departure, Coupang Inc., the parent company, has appointed Harold Rogers, who serves as the Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel, to act as the interim CEO.
“I am deeply sorry for disappointing the public with the recent personal information incident,” Park said, adding, “I feel a deep sense of responsibility for the outbreak and the subsequent recovery process, and I have decided to step down from all positions.”
Following his resignation, parent company Coupang Inc. appointed Harold Rogers, the Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel, as interim CEO.
Coupang said that Rogers plans to “focus on alleviating customer anxiety caused by the personal information leak” and to stabilize the organisation.
Park, who joined the company in 2012, became Coupang’s sole CEO in May, after the company transitioned away from a dual-CEO system.
According to Coupang, he was responsible for the company’s innovative new business and regional infrastructure development, and led projects to expand sales channels for small and medium enterprises, among others.
Prime Minister Kim Min-seok reportedly said Wednesday that strict action would be taken against the company if violations of the law were found, according to South Korean media outlet Yonhap.
Police also raided the Coupang headquarters for a second day on Wednesday, continuing their investigation into the data breach.
Yonhap also reported, citing sources, that the police search warrant “specifies a Chinese national who formerly worked for Coupang as a suspect on charges of breaching the information and communications network and leaking confidential data.”
Last week, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called for increased penalties on data breaches, saying that the Coupang data breach had served as a wake-up call.
—This is breaking news, please check back for updates.
