Fair Trade Commission Chairman Ju Biung-ghi speaks during his appearane on KBS News Line W on Dec. 19. (Captured from KBS)
Fair Trade Commission Chairman Ju Biung-ghi announced on Dec. 19 that he is keeping open the possibility of imposing a business suspension order on Coupang, which experienced a massive leak of customers’ personal information.
Ju appeared on KBS News Line W that afternoon and emphasized, “If Coupang is not properly implementing consumer damage recovery measures, we can impose a business suspension order.”
However, Ju clarified that procedures to confirm whether consumer information was misused, whether consumers suffered property damage, or whether there is concern for such damage must come first. He explained, “If there is property damage to consumers, we must demand that Coupang take measures to recover this, and if Coupang does not properly execute this, we can order a business suspension.”
Nevertheless, Ju did not rule out the possibility of not imposing a business suspension if it could harm consumers during the broadcast that day. He stated, “If it could harm consumers, we can impose a surcharge instead.”
Earlier, regarding the Fair Trade Commission’s plan to secure mandatory investigation authority that he reported to President Lee Jae Myung, he said, “We will prepare measures to strengthen investigation authority to align with the purpose of enhancing the effectiveness of administrative sanctions.”
