The South Korean government announced on Thursday (19 December) that it will establish an interagency task force to address the recent large-scale data breach at e-commerce giant Coupang Corp.

According to Yonhap, the decision was made during a meeting of science and technology-related ministers chaired by Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon.

The task force will be led by Ryu Je-myung, second vice minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT.

It will comprise officials from the science ministry as well as other agencies, including the Personal Information Protection Committee, the Korea Media Communications Commission, and the Financial Services Commission.

The task force will hold regular meetings. It will also hold ad hoc meetings to exchange updates on police and government investigations into the breach.

It will also discuss measures to enhance Coupang’s accountability in safeguarding customer data.

The government vowed to take “stern action” against Coupang. This came after the company confirmed last month that it had compromised personal information from 33.7 million customer accounts.

The breach has drawn sharp criticism from authorities and the public alike, with many expressing concern over Coupang’s perceived lacklustre response and reportedly intransigent stance toward Korean regulators.

During a parliamentary hearing on Wednesday (18 December), Harold Rogers, interim chief executive officer of Coupang, apologised for the incident.

However, he did not provide detailed information on planned measures for customer compensation. Nor did he outline improvements to the company’s data security protocols.

The South Korean government has emphasised that protecting personal information is a national priority.

This comes particularly in the wake of increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks targeting both corporate and public sector entities.

Analysts have noted that the establishment of the task force signals a more proactive approach.

Multiple regulatory bodies will oversee the task force to hold companies accountable for breaches that affect millions of consumers.

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