Coupang headquarters and Coupang Inc. Chairman Bom Kim [Yonhap News photo archive · Excerpt from Coupang's U.S. stock listing application]

Bom Kim, founder of Coupang and Chairman of Coupang Inc., predicted on the 5th (local time) that while the company is recovering from the aftermath of last year's personal information leak incident, fundamental recovery will take time.

During the conference call for the first-quarter earnings announcement, Chairman Kim stated, "The growth rate of e-commerce product sales hit its lowest point in January, and performance has improved month-over-month since then, with the pace of improvement accelerating in February and March."

Coupang Inc. announced on the same day that its first-quarter revenue grew 8% year-over-year to 12.4 trillion won ($8.504 billion), but it incurred an operating loss of 354.5 billion won ($242 million), marking a shift to a deficit.

This is the first quarterly deficit for Coupang Inc. in seven quarters since the second quarter of 2024. The loss amounts to 52% of the company's annual operating profit of 679 billion won last year.

Chairman Kim attributed the deficit to the customer purchase vouchers issued in response to the personal information incident and temporary inefficiencies in the logistics network.

In January, Coupang distributed purchase vouchers worth 50,000 won per person to 33.7 million customers, with a total issuance cost of 1.685 trillion won.

Regarding logistics inefficiencies, Chairman Kim explained, "Facility expansion and supply chain plans are adjusted based on demand trends predicted by customer patterns. If external factors (the aftermath of the personal information leak incident) disrupt these patterns, we incur costs for idle facilities and inventory."

He added, "It will take time for the year-over-year growth rate to fully reflect a fundamental recovery, but I am confident in the fundamental profit growth potential of our business in the long term," emphasizing the robustness of Coupang's business viability.

Chairman Kim stated, "I believe the factors driving Coupang's margin expansion in the long term are still valid and continuously improving. We expect long-term margin expansion through improved operational efficiency across the network, supply chain optimization, continuous investment in automation technology, and expansion of high-profit categories and products."

He further commented, "Most existing customers and WOW members did not leave after the personal information leak incident. As of the end of April, we have recovered approximately 80% of the WOW members lost after the incident due to an increase in re-subscriptions from former members and new member sign-ups."

When asked about the designation of the same person (total management) during the conference call, Coupang Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Girab Anand replied, "We are aware of the designation of the same person in Korea and are closely reviewing it. As always, we are committed to complying with all regulatory requirements in the jurisdictions where we operate."

He added, "We are continuously communicating with all regulatory bodies on a conceptual basis and fulfilling all our obligations as needed."

The Korea Fair Trade Commission recently changed Coupang's designated same person (total management) from the corporation to Chairman Bom Kim personally. Consequently, regulatory scrutiny on Coupang's governance structure will intensify, and regulations against self-dealing will also apply.

However, Coupang maintains that Chairman Kim meets the exemption criteria for the designation of the same person and intends to explain its position through objections and administrative litigation. In response to the question posed today, CFO Anand, rather than Chairman Kim, emphasized "review" and "communication."