South Korea’s personal data protection regulator has imposed a record fine of about 624.7 billion won (around US$409 million) on e-commerce company Coupang for a major data breach. The penalty is the largest privacy fine in the country and follows a months-long investigation into the leak, which exposed personal information of more than 30 million customers and affected a substantial share of South Korea’s population. Reports say the breach came to light after allegations first surfaced in November. The regulator says Coupang failed to implement adequate safety measures and delayed reporting the incident. According to a joint government-civilian investigation led by the Ministry of Science and ICT, a former Coupang employee allegedly hacked into the company’s systems, leading to the data leak. The fine comes as the case also raises wider diplomatic friction involving the United States, as Coupang is incorporated in the US and the issue drew attention from US lawmakers. The regulator’s decision sets a new benchmark, surpassing a previous record penalty imposed on telecom operator SK Telecom after a breach affecting 23.24 million users.