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Assembly's ICT committee sets date for hearing on Coupang data leak

Published: 05 Dec. 2025, 15:47

Coupang CEO Park Dae-jun answers lawmakers’ questions during a National Assembly Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee session on Dec. 2 regarding the company’s personal data leak. [LIM HYUN-DONG]

The National Assembly’s Science, ICT, Future Planning, Broadcasting and Communications Committee agreed Friday to hold a hearing on Coupang following a massive personal information leak at the e-commerce giant.

According to lawmakers from both parties on the committee, floor leaders reached an agreement to convene the hearing on Dec. 17 after negotiating the schedule earlier in the day.

The two major political parties plan to adopt the hearing plan for Coupang — along with the confirmation hearing schedule for Kim Jong-cheol, the nominee to lead the newly created Korea Media Communications Commission — at a full committee meeting on Tuesday.

Under the Act on Testimony and Appraisal Before the National Assembly, a witness summons must be issued at least seven days before a hearing. As a result, Kim’s confirmation hearing will take place on Dec. 16, followed by the Coupang hearing on Dec. 17.

Coupang initially reported to authorities that information — including customer names, emails and addresses — had been leaked from 4,536 accounts, but an investigation later found that the breach actually affected 33.79 million accounts.

During a full committee session on Tuesday, lawmakers questioned Coupang CEO Park Dae-jun and Brett Matthes, the company’s chief information security officer, on the incident.

Lawmakers from both parties criticized Coupang for failing to sufficiently explain how the breach occurred and how the company responded. They subsequently agreed that a formal hearing was necessary to determine the cause of the incident more clearly.

BY JEONG HYE-JEONG [[email protected]]