A US subsidiary of a South Korean law firm said Monday that it will file a class-action suit against the US headquarters of e-commerce giant Coupang Inc. over a massive personal data leak, vowing to get to the bottom of the case and ensure "substantive" compensation for the victims.
During a press conference, Kim Kuk-il, the managing partner at Daeryun law firm, said that SJKP Law Firm LLP, the US branch of Daeryun, plans to file the suit seeking punitive damages against the Seattle-headquartered company at a US federal court in New York as early as this month.
Late last month, Coupang revealed that the personal information of 33.7 million customers had been leaked, including their names, phone numbers and email addresses. Some 200 people have joined the move to sue the company in the US, with the number expected to rise further.
"Coupang's headquarters is registered in Delaware, and it is a US firm listed on the New York Stock Exchange," Kim said. "We will ensure that with the strong sword of the US judicial system, we will get to the bottom of this incident, and victims will receive substantive compensation."
He said that the planned lawsuit in the US will proceed separately from one in South Korea.
"While (the suit in) South Korea will focus on compensating consumers for damages, (one in) the US will be different in nature given that it will handle (potential) failures in corporate governance of a listed company and (possible) violations of filing obligations," he said.
Kim also said that the US lawsuit will look into what role Coupang's headquarters played in its relations with its Korean operations. (Yonhap)
