South Korean authorities have imposed a record fine of 624 billion won (more than $400 million) on retail giant Coupang after a data breach last year exposed the personal data of more than 34 million customers.
The Seoul Metropolitan Personal Information Protection Commission imposed the largest fine on Thursday after a data leak was discovered in December 2025. The US-based retail giant, popular in South Korea and nicknamed the “Amazon of Asia,” said a months-long data breach gave former employees access to the names, email addresses, shipping addresses, phone numbers and order history of about two-thirds of South Korea's population.
Coupang told BBC News it intended to challenge the regulator's decision. This fine is a rare fine imposed on a US-based company. South Korean lawmakers have accused some U.S. lawmakers of applying political pressure following reports that U.S. lawmakers are linking the data breach to U.S.-South Korea bilateral relations in the wake of a lawsuit against Coupang executives.
U.S. companies rarely face financial sanctions or criminal prosecution for data breaches due to a lack of legal and enforcement authority.