News

South Korea Rocked by Massive Coupang Data Leak

Dan Mitchum

South Korea’s largest e-commerce platform, Coupang, is at the center of a major scandal after confirming that personal information belonging to approximately 33.7 million customers was exposed in a breach first detected in November 2025. The leak, one of the largest in recent South Korean history, triggered swift reactions from regulators, lawmakers, and the presidency.

According to the company, the compromised data includes customer names, email addresses, delivery addresses, and some order histories. However, Coupang asserted that payment information, login credentials, and bank-account numbers were not exposed. The breach is believed to have stemmed from unauthorized access via overseas servers beginning June 24, 2025, but internal controls failed to detect it until November 18. The staggering scale of the leak, which may have impacted nearly two-thirds of the adult population in Korea, has promoted wide public outrage and prompted some users to turn away from the platform.

Law enforcement and financial regulators warned of a likely surge in phishing, “smishing” (fraudulent text messages), and other scams. The leaks sparked immediate political and policy responses. On December 2, President Lee Jae Myung condemned Coupang’s five-month delay in detecting the breach, stating that “All available measures must be mobilized to prevent secondary damage caused by the misuse of leaked information… We must take this opportunity to completely overturn the poor practices and mindsets that treat personal data protection lightly, even though it is a core asset in the era of AI and digital technology.”

At the same time, the administration pushed for stricter punitive measures, including more severe fines, expanded punitive damages, and tougher enforcement of data protection rules. Regulatory authorities have also taken direct action. The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) ordered Coupang to reissue a “data leak” notice (instead of “data exposure,” which the company had used initially), provide clear guidance for affected customers on protecting themselves, and strengthen its information security practices.

Likewise, the Ministry of Science and ICT, the PIPC, the national police, and the Korea Internet & Security Agency have launched a joint investigation into the root cause of the leak, including potential system-authentication flaws and lapses in Coupang’s internal security controls.

ROK Asserts Sovereignty Over Dokdo in Response to Japan PM Claims Over the Islands

Mikayla Basanese

Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reopened one of Northeast Asia’s most sensitive territorial disputes this week after formally asserting that Dokdo, or Takeshima in Japan, is Japanese territory in her opening policy address. The statement mirrored the long-standing position of Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which maintains the claim on its official “Takeshima” page. But the timing and political tone carried particular weight as President Lee Jae Myung has made stabilizing relations with Japan a pillar of his early foreign policy, and this symbolic move risks disrupting that trajectory.

South Korea’s reaction was swift. The ROK presidential office quickly reaffirmed that “Dokdo is indisputably Korean territory by history, geography, and international law.” This marks the strongest response toward Japan since President Lee took office. The incident highlights a recurring dilemma for South Korea in balancing symbolic nationalism with strategic necessity. President Lee has emphasized trilateral cooperation with Japan and the United States, aligned with the principles reaffirmed at the Camp David summit. This cooperation is increasingly vital for managing supply-chain resilience, emerging technology governance, and North Korea’s advancing nuclear posture. But public sentiment around Dokdo is deeply rooted in historical memory, identity, and perceptions of Japan’s approach to its imperial past. No Korean administration can afford to appear conciliatory on this issue.

Regionally, this flare-up comes at a time when China and North Korea are both incentivized to exploit fissures in Japan-Korea relations. Historical disputes can interrupt periods of cooperation, weakening the trilateral deterrence architecture that Washington has prioritized. Maintaining diplomatic composure while protecting territorial claims will be one of President Lee’s central foreign-policy challenges.

Ultimately, the incident illustrates how easily historic grievances can destabilize contemporary strategic agendas. Dokdo is not merely a sovereignty issue but a symbolic fulcrum of national identity for both Koreans and Japanese. While Prime Minister Takaichi may have intended to assert political continuity more than provoke Seoul, the result has nonetheless tested the early contours of President Lee’s Japan policy. How both governments handle this episode will shape not only bilateral ties but also the credibility of emerging trilateral frameworks in an increasingly contested Indo-Pacific.

This Week in Korean History

On December 10, 2000, South Korean President Kim Dae-jung was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The prize was awarded in recognition of Kim’s efforts towards improving North-South relations and the president’s efforts towards strengthening democracy and human rights.