Concern is mounting over potential insider trading at Coupang, following the sale of company stock by two senior executives occurring after a massive data breach and before its public acknowledgment.
On November 10, Coupang’s Chief Financial Officer, Gaurav Anand, sold 75,350 shares at $29.0195 each, a transaction that reached approximately $2.19 million (around 3.2 billion won). Pranam Kholari, a former senior vice president with responsibilities for search and recommendations, also sold shares. On November 17, Kholari offloaded 27,388 shares for about $772,000 (1.13 billion won). Noteworthy to mention, Kholari resigned from his position just three days prior, on November 14.
Interestingly, both transactions occurred after the unauthorized access to user accounts took place, but before the company went public with the extent of the breach. This timing has intensified scrutiny over the possibility of executives acting on nonpublic information.
Coupang, on November 29, announced that around 33.7 million customer accounts had been compromised in the data breach. The affected information included names, emails, phone numbers, addresses, and selected order details. Prior to this, on November 18, the company had reported a smaller breach affecting about 4,500 users.
A report submitted to the Korea Internet & Security Agency reveals that Coupang detected the unauthorized access on November 6 at 6:38 p.m. However, the company did not identify the data breach until November 18, a 12-day delay that has invited questions from lawmakers and regulators.
The timing of the stock sales and the subsequent delay in acknowledging the breach are expected to be a focal point of investigations into the data leak, which has been one of the largest in Korea’s e-commerce sector.
What are the implications of the stock sales by Coupang’s executives?
The stock sales, given their timing, have raised concerns over potential insider trading, with both transactions occurring after the data breach but before its public acknowledgment.
What information was compromised in the Coupang data breach?
The compromised information includes customers’ names, emails, phone numbers, addresses, and selected order details, with approximately 33.7 million customer accounts affected.
What prompted questions from lawmakers and regulators regarding the data breach?
The company’s delay in identifying and disclosing the data breach, which was detected on November 6 but not formally acknowledged until November 18, has led to queries from regulatory bodies and lawmakers.
