Alphabiz - Coupang Executives Sold Shares Worth Millions Shortly After Massive Data Breach Occurred

Photo: Coupang

[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] Seoul, South Korea — Key executives at Coupang sold tens of millions of won worth of company shares shortly after a large-scale personal data breach occurred, raising concerns over potential insider trading issues.

According to filings released on December 2 (local time) by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gaurav Anand, Chief Financial Officer of Coupang Inc., reported that he sold 75,350 shares on November 10 at USD 29.0195 per share, totaling approximately USD 2.186 million.

Former Vice President Pranam Kolaray also disclosed that he sold 27,388 shares on November 17, valued at approximately USD 772,000. Kolaray, who oversaw Coupang’s search and recommendation division, resigned on November 14—just days before the reported sale.

The executives’ stock sales occurred before the date Coupang stated it became aware of the personal information intrusion, but the timing has sparked questions, as both transactions took place during a sensitive period for the company. Observers note that the sales could lead to future scrutiny or controversy over potential insider trading, despite technically pre-dating the company’s official acknowledgement of the breach.

Coupang announced on November 29 that approximately 33.7 million customer accounts had been compromised, including names, emails, phone numbers, addresses, and portions of order history.
The company had previously informed regulators on November 18 that it had detected an intrusion affecting roughly 4,500 customers’ personal information.

Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)