South Korea

공정위 “쿠팡 영업정지 검토”…입점업체 손실전가 ‘약탈적 사업’ 저격도

Maekyung | Local Language | News | Jan. 14, 2026 | Regulatory Enforcement Actions

The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Joo Byung-gi has signaled the potential suspension of Coupang’s operations following a personal information leak, with investigations currently underway by multiple agencies including the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Personal Information Protection Commission. The FTC will assess consumer harm from the data leak and may impose operational suspension if remedial measures are not implemented or consumer harm persists.

In addition to the data breach, the FTC is investigating Coupang for allegedly passing losses from its low-price sales strategy onto partner sellers, labeling this a predatory business practice. There are also probes into accusations of exaggerated discount promotions to Wow membership members and coercion of delivery-app vendors to provide favorable terms. Depending on the findings, Coupang could face fines ranging from tens to hundreds of billions of won, potentially impacting its overall business model.

The FTC is scrutinizing whether Chairman Kim Beom-seok and his family are involved in Coupang’s management, which could lead to designating Kim as the “same person” who effectively controls the company. This status change would subject him to regulatory obligations, which he has avoided by citing his U.S. citizenship and claimed non-involvement of relatives in management. The issue has been reignited by revelations of significant compensation paid to Kim’s brother by Coupang Korea.

Separately, a government official emphasized that the response to Coupang’s personal information leak will be handled independently of trade or diplomatic considerations, clarifying that the Korean government does not discriminate against Coupang as a U.S.-linked company.

MS, 공공 SaaS 진입 가시화되나…업계 "외산 솔루션 확산은 아직 더뎌"

ZD Net Korea | Local Language | News | Jan. 14, 2026 | UndeterminedTech Development/Adoption

Microsoft (MS) is advancing efforts to enter the public Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) market in South Korea with its Microsoft 365 (M365) offering. The company is reportedly pursuing the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) Cloud Security Assurance Program (CSAP) "Ha" grade certification for M365. Achieving this certification would mark MS as the first global tech giant to actively seek entry into the public SaaS market, enabling M365’s introduction in public institutions even in network-isolated environments.

Despite this progress, industry experts note that institutional certification does not guarantee rapid market adoption. While foreign cloud services such as Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, and MS Azure have obtained certifications in the infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) domain, actual penetration in the public sector remains limited. SaaS, which involves direct linkage of public institution work data to external services, poses greater security and accountability challenges than IaaS, making adoption more cautious and slow.

A domestic cloud industry official pointed out that although major IaaS providers have secured procurement registrations and partial market entry, contract wins or practical usage within public institutions have been negligible. This official suggested that even if M365 secures its Ha grade certification in the SaaS domain, similar slow uptake can be expected.

The push for SaaS Ha grade certification by MS is seen as a strategic move following Azure’s earlier attainment of the IaaS Ha grade, which helped establish an institutional foundation for public sector entry. However, MS and KISA have declined to confirm details about the application or assessment process. Industry insiders emphasize that beyond certification, actual use cases and trust are critical factors for foreign SaaS solutions to gain meaningful traction in the public sector, predicting that broad adoption will require significant time even after regulatory approval.

Yonhap | English | News | Jan. 14, 2026 | Corporate Corruption or Fraud

Harold Rogers, interim CEO of Coupang Corp., has failed to appear for the police's first summons amid an investigation into a large-scale data leak. After his absence, a second summons was issued, which Rogers has indicated he intends to comply with. The police are considering imposing an exit ban on Rogers.

The data leak involves the personal information of 33 million users, though Coupang initially reported only about 3,000 individual cases affected. The police suspect the extent of the leak to be much larger and are continuing their analysis. Rogers is being investigated for obstruction of official duties and business related to the company’s internal investigation into the leak.

A special task force has been formed to probe all matters related to Coupang and is focusing on a suspect, a former Coupang employee of Chinese nationality. Efforts are underway with Interpol to repatriate the suspect from China. Additionally, the police will investigate whether Rogers’ testimony to the National Assembly was truthful, following a complaint filed against him for violating laws governing testimony before parliament.