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Coupang says user numbers haven't dropped, but delivery workers say otherwise

Published: 24 Dec. 2025, 18:18 Updated: 25 Dec. 2025, 18:35

The picture shows Coupang’s Guro 1 Camp logistics center in Guro District, western Seoul on Dec. 23. [NOH YU-RIM]

Coupang delivery workers say business has slowed since the e-commerce giant disclosed a data leak affecting 33.7 million customers in November, but the company, which said on Friday that it has identified the source of the breach, has not seen a significant decline in transactions.

Coupang identified a former employee as the source of the leak through a digital forensic investigation and analysis conducted by the company with outside specialist institutions, and the individual has confessed to all related actions, according to the e-commerce giant. The person accessed approximately 33 million customer accounts using an internal security key stolen during employment, but the information actually stored on a personal storage device was limited to about 3,000 accounts, according to Coupang, adding that all devices used to access customer information has been secured and no additional data was leaked externally.

The stored data consisted of basic information such as names, email addresses, phone numbers, addresses and some order information. Shared building entrance access codes were involved in 2,609 cases. Sensitive information such as payment details, login credentials and personal customs clearance identification numbers was not included, and no evidence was found that the data had been transmitted to third parties.

Coupang said it recovered all devices used in the leak, including a desktop computer, hard disks and a MacBook Air laptop, following verified procedures.

Coupang's announcement was met with a strong rebuke by the government, which said the claims made by Coupang were not confirmed by the joint public-private investigation team.

The fallout from the breach is extending beyond data security, appearing to affect day-to-day business operations.

Coupang delivery workers say business has slowed since the e-commerce giant disclosed a data leak affecting 33.7 million customers in November. In parts of Seoul and Gyeonggi, workers report package volumes down 10 to 20 percent, even during the year-end rush. Rival platforms, by contrast, say orders are rising.

The decline has started to show at logistics hubs, including Coupang’s Guro 1 Camp in Guro District, western Seoul.

"I delivered an average of 350 to 380 packages a day last month," a delivery worker surnamed Woo said on Tuesday at Guro 1 Camp. "This month I barely surpassed 300."

Another delivery worker surnamed Lee said the decline hit even the facility that focuses on Rocket Delivery — Coupang’s fast-shipping service that delivers orders, often by the next day — and early-morning delivery.

Delivery vehicles sit parked at a Coupang logistics center in Seoul on Dec. 7. [NEWS1]

“This month, delivery volume fell about 10 to 15 percent,” Lee said.

A worker going by Kim, who also works as a delivery driver with their spouse, said they saw an unusual decline for this time of the year.

“I handle two delivery areas and averaged about 330 to 350 deliveries a day last month, but last week it dropped to around 290,” Kim said. "Christmas and year-end usually bring a flood of packages, but volume fell instead."

Over at Coupang’s Yongin 3 Camp in Yongin, Gyeonggi, workers sorted Rocket Fresh insulated bags for fresh food deliveries on Monday.

"Order volume in apartment complexes dropped sharply," another worker surnamed Lee, who has worked for Coupang for three years, said. "I usually pick up about 20 orders in one complex, but last week it fell to about 10 to 15."

Delivery workers said they also noticed signs of customers exiting Coupang’s membership ecosystem.

The JoongAng Ilbo visited four logistics sites in western and southern Seoul, including Yeongdeungpo, Guro and Geumcheon districts, as well as Yongin in Gyeonggi, and interviewed 20 delivery workers. They described a 10 to 20 percent decline in delivery volume after the Coupang data leak.

Workers said the drop appeared larger in neighborhoods with many studio apartments, where younger residents tend to live.

A Coupang logistics center in seen in Seoul on Dec. 16. [NEWS1]

“I processed about 400 deliveries a day on average last month, but recently it dropped by about 50,” said Lee, who delivers in Gwanak District, southern Seoul. "Boramae-dong, where many families live, fell about 10 percent, but in Sillim-dong, where many residents live in studio apartments, the decline appears closer to 20 percent."

Coupang disclosed the data breach on Nov. 29 and has maintained that it has not seen a significant decline in users.

Mobile Index, a data analysis service, estimated Coupang’s daily active users at 14.84 million as of Saturday. The figure showed little change from October’s 14.9 million. But retail industry sources said daily active users do not necessarily reflect actual shoppers because the metric counts anyone who opens the app.

Delivery vehicles sit parked at a Coupang logistics center in Seoul on Dec. 4. [YONHAP]

Some competitors reported higher order volumes after the Coupang incident.

Market Kurly, an online grocery and e-commerce company, said orders in December as of Tuesday rose 10 percent from the same period in November.

“When I delivered to an apartment complex of about 300 households, I used to only spot Kurly boxes at about two doors,” Hwang, who has worked as a Coupang delivery worker for two years, said. "These days I see them at four or five, and instead of one or two boxes, I usually see stacks of around four."

Coupang Chairman Bom Kim has stayed out of public view despite growing signs that customers have begun leaving Coupang’s membership service.

Kim stepped down as CEO of Coupang’s Korea unit in 2021 and kept only his role as chairman of Coupang, the parent company. Still, he effectively runs the Korea business.

“Inside Coupang, people do not call former CEO Park Dae-jun the CEO or write ‘CEO’ in documents,” said a former Coupang executive who requested anonymity. “They use a title like ‘president of directors’ for the top executive because Chairman Bom Kim serves as the real CEO.”

Until last month, Kim reportedly stayed overseas and held daily video meetings with executives in Korea.

After the data leak incident, Kim reportedly stopped those meetings and communicated only with Harold Rogers, who serves as the Korean unit’s interim CEO.

“A command center that gave daily instructions has disappeared, and Rogers, as a foreigner, does not fully understand Korean sentiment or why the issue keeps growing, so confusion has spread inside the company,” said a Coupang representative who requested anonymity.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHOI HYUN-JU,NOH YU-RIM [[email protected]]