Seoul: The punitive damages system is not functioning in preventing information leaks, as shown by the massive data breach at Coupang Inc., and more fundamental measures are urgently needed, a presidential office official said Monday. Presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik made the remarks during a senior secretaries' meeting after personal information of over 33 million customers of the e-commerce giant was compromised in South Korea's worst data breach.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Kang stated that the punitive damages system is virtually not functioning, which limits the prevention of large-scale data leaks. Kang further highlighted that the repeated data breach incidents reveal structural weaknesses in the country's personal data protection system. He instructed the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Personal Information Protection Commission to report on fundamental institutional measures to prevent such cases and on support measures to strengthen corporate security capabilities.

Punitive damages are a legal mechanism that requires additional compensation beyond actual damages for intentional or malicious illegal acts, designed to punish the wrongdoer and prevent recurrence. The data breach is believed to have begun in June through overseas servers, though the company only became aware of the leak last month.

Police said they are tracing IP addresses and examining potential vulnerabilities at Coupang, and a former employee, who is a Chinese national who has since left South Korea, was identified as the perpetrator. President Lee Jae Myung has been briefed on the situation, and the Coupang case was discussed at a meeting of the presidential office earlier in the day, Jeon added.