Coupang restores services after outage and announces compensation

Coupang restored its shopping platform, Coupang Eats food delivery and Coupang Play streaming after an overnight outage on October 9. The company announced compensation for customers and partners whose orders were affected.

Problems began around midnight in South Korea during a service upgrade. Users saw a message asking them to try again later. App access resumed around 1 a.m., but login and other functions remained impaired. Yonhap reported that normal service returned around 2:30 a.m.

The disruption also affected the logistics platform used by delivery drivers. Coupang told users that the upgrade error had been fully resolved. It is still investigating the exact cause. The outage itself does not establish that hacking or a data breach occurred.

Customers whose purchases were canceled because of the failure were offered compensation worth 5,000 won. Coupang Eats users whose food orders were canceled are to receive 3,000-won vouchers, while those unable to place an order are to receive 1,000-won vouchers.

Riders were promised compensation for orders canceled after they accepted them. Coupang also plans compensation for restaurant owners. The company has more than 30 million monthly active users.