Coupang Shares Face Mounting Legal and Regulatory Scrutiny

South Korean e-commerce leader Coupang saw its stock come under renewed selling pressure on Tuesday. The decline coincided with a dual-front escalation of its ongoing troubles: a deepened government probe into labor practices in its home market and the filing of new shareholder class-action lawsuits in the United States. Trading activity reflected heightened investor uncertainty.

In the U.S., legal firms including Levi & Korsinsky initiated class-action proceedings against the company. The core allegation is that Coupang's leadership failed in its fiduciary duty by maintaining inadequate cybersecurity measures. This alleged negligence is said to have enabled a former employee to access and exfiltrate data belonging to approximately 33.7 million users over a period of several months.

Korean Government Intensifies Labor Investigation

Simultaneously, authorities in South Korea are ramping up their examination. The country's Ministry of Employment and Labor has established a dedicated task force to investigate Coupang. The probe centers on accusations of illegal labor dispatch practices and internal programs designed to dismiss underperforming workers. Minister Kim Young-hoon pledged stringent action, particularly if allegations of pressure being applied to the families of workers who died in accidents are substantiated.

A Protracted Crisis Deepens

These developments mark a significant intensification of a crisis that began in late November 2025 with the disclosure of the massive data breach. Since that revelation, Coupang's market capitalization has eroded by over $8 billion. A proposed settlement by the company, amounting to roughly $35 per affected user, is widely viewed by the market as insufficient to mitigate the risk of substantial regulatory fines.

Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Coupang?

Persistent internal turmoil continues to weigh on investor sentiment. This includes the December resignation of the CEO of Coupang's South Korean operation and founder Bom Kim's refusal to testify before the National Assembly.

Critical Dates and Technical Levels

The stock's near-term trajectory is likely to be heavily influenced by the findings from the labor ministry's task force. Another pivotal date is February 17, 2026, which is the deadline for appointing a lead plaintiff in the U.S. class-action litigation.

From a technical analysis perspective, the shares are testing key support levels around $22. This price point represents a decline of approximately 24% from the stock's peak following its third-quarter earnings report. The next major fundamental catalyst will be the release of Q4 2025 financial results, expected on February 24, 2026. However, consensus earnings per share estimates face potential downward revisions as the financial impact of litigation and potential penalties becomes clearer.