Court rejects Coupang’s bid to suspend record privacy fine

Detailed summary

A South Korean court on Thursday rejected Coupang’s request to suspend a record 423.58 billion won ($315 million) fine imposed over a massive personal data breach, leaving the…

A South Korean court on Thursday rejected Coupang’s request to suspend a record 423.58 billion won ($315 million) fine imposed over a massive personal data breach, leaving the financial penalty in effect while the e-commerce giant challenges the regulator’s decision.

The Seoul Administrative Court dismissed Coupang’s application to suspend the fine imposed by the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC), South Korea’s privacy watchdog.

The court ruled that Coupang had failed to sufficiently demonstrate that enforcing the penalty would cause irreparable harm or that an urgent suspension was necessary to prevent such damage.

However, the court granted a temporary suspension of the regulator’s corrective orders and public disclosure requirements until 30 days after a ruling is delivered in the main lawsuit challenging the sanctions.

In June, the PIPC imposed a fine of 423.57 billion won on Coupang after determining that the company’s failure to implement adequate personal data protection measures had resulted in the exposure of personal information belonging to approximately 37.5 million people.

The penalty was the largest ever imposed in South Korea for a single personal data breach.

Coupang filed a lawsuit last month seeking to overturn the fine and related administrative measures, along with a separate application to suspend their enforcement while the case proceeds.

Coupang said it would carefully review the court’s decision before deciding on its next steps.

The ruling leaves the record financial penalty in place pending further legal proceedings, while temporarily shielding Coupang from the regulator’s corrective and disclosure orders.

Opening of the article, excerpted from Pulse (Maeil Business). To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.