CEO of South Korean retail giant Coupang resigns after massive data breach

In a significant move, Park Dae-jun has stepped down as CEO of Coupang, the leading retail firm in South Korea, after a severe data breach compromised the personal information of over half the nation’s citizens. Park expressed his regret in a statement, emphasizing his profound sense of accountability for both the incident and the ongoing recovery efforts. Following Park's resignation, Harold Rogers, who previously served as the chief legal officer for Coupang’s parent company in the United States, has been appointed as the new CEO. This change comes on the heels of a troubling revelation last month, in which Coupang disclosed that a data breach had affected nearly 34 million individuals. Although the breach reportedly initiated in June, it went undetected until November, when the company initially reported that around 4,500 customers had their data compromised. This number was later adjusted significantly upward. This incident marks yet another troubling episode in a series of cybersecurity breaches targeting major corporations and governmental entities in South Korea this year. Notably, it follows a catastrophic data center fire that resulted in the permanent loss of critical government data, raising concerns about the overall security framework within the country.