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🟠 South Korea’s Amazon: biggest data leak in history

🟠 South Korea’s Amazon: biggest data leak in history

Reading time: 4 min 36 sec

December 02, 2025

In partnership with

Today’s edition is written by:
Michael & Thomas

☕️ Good morning, friends,

China’s e-commerce platforms have a new problem: customers are using AI to fake product photos.

With just a few clicks, fresh apples become moldy fruit, new clothes suddenly have “frayed” collars, and intact mugs appear cracked.

Welcome to 2025, where not only products are AI-optimized, but complaints are too. 👀

SHARING IS CARING

👉 One friend, one click, your China Starter Kit!

Because we’re constantly asked:
“What should I pay attention to and how do I prepare for my trip to China?”

That’s why we’ve put together the most important basics for you in our Starter Kit.

One click, one referral, one friend and the guide lands directly in your inbox for free while asiabits keeps growing thanks to you. 🧡

https://news-en.asiabits.com/subscribe?ref=PLACEHOLDER

Highlights: China’s stock market is staging a quiet comeback. The CSI 300 is moving almost in lockstep with the S&P 500. Fund managers are rotating back into China, shifting away from the “old China” of property and exports toward industrials, AI beneficiaries and biotech. Their argument: earnings are stable and valuations are far cheaper than in the US.

TOP BIT

🔓 Mega data leak shakes South Korea

Coupang: now delivering your data to your doorstep

South Korea’s largest online retailer has confirmed a massive data breach.
Data from around 33.7 million customers was exposed, affecting almost 50 percent of the population.

Details

📁 What was leaked: Names, email addresses, phone numbers, delivery addresses and parts of order histories. Especially sensitive: many customers store door codes and other access details for delivery.

👮 Insider under investigation: Investigators believe the breach was carried out by a former Coupang employee with Chinese citizenship. The suspect has reportedly already left the country, making prosecution more difficult.

🕒 Five months undetected: According to Coupang, the unauthorized access began in June 2025 via overseas servers. Initially only 4,500 accounts were flagged as compromised, later it turned out to be 33.7 million.

💳 Payment data not affected: Coupang says credit-card information, bank details and log-in credentials were not compromised. Still, authorities warn of targeted phishing and fraud attempts using the stolen contact information.

⚖️ Regulators under pressure: The Ministry of Science, the Personal Information Protection Commission and the police have set up a joint taskforce. If Coupang violated security requirements, it could face heavy fines and class-action lawsuits.

🧾 2025 — Korea’s record year for data leaks

A series of failures: SK Telecom, KT, Lotte Card and crypto exchanges such as Upbit have already reported major leaks this year.
SK Telecom was fined nearly 100 million USD for missing security requirements and reporting incidents too late.
Systemic weakness: Regulators criticize that many conglomerates pour billions into logistics, platforms and growth, but treat cybersecurity as a cost center. Investment levels and defense systems remain far below US standards.

📊All Details & Data: Korea Times, The Chosun Daily, BBC

OUR PARTNER

Shoppers are adding to cart for the holidays

Peak streaming time continues after Black Friday on Roku, with the weekend after Thanksgiving and the weeks leading up to Christmas seeing record hours of viewing. Roku Ads Manager makes it simple to launch last-minute campaigns targeting viewers who are ready to shop during the holidays. Use first-party audience insights, segment by demographics, and advertise next to the premium ad-supported content your customers are streaming this holiday season.

Read the guide to get your CTV campaign live in time for the holiday rush.

Learn more.

NUMBER OF THE DAY

That’s how much Disney’s animated sequel Zootopia 2 has raked in at China’s box office in just its first five days.

🎬 The result marks the second-strongest opening ever for a foreign film since Avengers: Endgame.

🐰 The original Zootopia became a cult hit in 2016 and remains part of pop culture to this day.

Watch: Many US studios are struggling with weak demand, tighter regulation, and unclear approval criteria in China. Disney, by contrast, spent nearly a decade patiently building Zootopia as a brand in the Chinese market — from a dedicated themed area at Shanghai Disneyland to local short films and dozens of brand collaborations.

👉🏻 The payoff: a local audience that truly feels addressed, while many other US blockbusters now barely find any resonance in China.

MARKET BIT

🍣 From barrels to bento: Saudi Arabia’s $27B Japan offensive

Available soon: Pokémon shemagh

💰 Saudi cash flood into Tokyo: The sovereign wealth fund PIF plans to more than double its investments in Japan to around $27B by 2030, up from $11.5B so far. Targets include public markets, private equity, infrastructure and supply-chain access.

⛏️ Hunt for critical minerals: Japan is seeking a rare-earth alliance with Saudi Arabia to reduce dependence on China. Riyadh is touting $2.5T in mineral reserves and accelerating exploration using AI.

📈 Asia over Wall Street: PIF is raising its annual deployment target to $70B and shifting its focus further toward Asia. ETFs, bank financing and co-investments with Japan, China and Hong Kong are being systematically expanded.

🎮 Soft power included: Beyond energy and finance, Saudi Arabia is also betting on anime, gaming and entertainment. Dragon Ball theme parks in Riyadh and the Nintendo stake are part of its youth and job-creation strategy.

🤝 Japan returns as a key partner: Tokyo is already Saudi Arabia’s third-largest trading partner. Both sides are deepening supply chains, technology partnerships and industrial cooperation — from EVs to green ammonia.

Big Picture

Saudi Arabia is steadily shifting its geopolitical and economic weight toward East Asia. As relations with the West grow more complex, Japan and Asia offer capital markets, technology, industrial expertise and stable demand. For Tokyo, this means fresh foreign capital; for Riyadh, access to supply chains, critical raw materials and industrial value creation beyond oil.

👉🏻 Full Story: Bloomberg, Reuters, Nikkei, Yahoo Finance

HEAD OF THE DAY

🇨🇳 Zhang Junjie 张俊杰

🧋 From orphan to tea empire
At age ten, Zhang lost both parents, left school and worked as a helper in a milk-tea shop. He taught himself to read and write at eighteen. Eight years later he founded Chagee, now a global tea chain with thousands of stores and a Nasdaq listing.

His recipes for success

Tea instead of sugar bombs: He positioned Chagee as a modern interpretation of traditional Chinese tea culture, focusing on high-quality tea leaves, minimalist design and a lounge experience rather than a grab-and-go kiosk.
Personally modest, professionally relentless: Colleagues say he still has not bought a car or an apartment. More important than personal consumption is leaving a mark on China’s economic history.
A wedding that fascinates China: In two weeks he will marry Gao Haichun, the only daughter of the founders of Trina Solar, known in the media as the “Solar Goddess.” The two met at a networking event for young entrepreneurs.

HIGHLIGHTS

🛞 Honda turns its China business upside down: The Japanese automaker is barely selling gasoline cars anymore, pushing the joint venture deep into the red. Partner Dongfeng is now selling its entire stake in Dongfeng Honda Engine after two and a half years of talks. The JV posted a loss of CNY 227 million last year. So far in 2025, only 520,000 vehicles have been sold—just a third of last year’s volume.

🇧🇷 Inflation relief from the other side of the world: According to Brazil’s central bank chief, cheap Chinese imports are now driving the country into deflation. More and cheaper goods from China are flooding the market. A blessing for consumers, a nightmare for domestic manufacturers. Brazil is pushing back with a new small-parcel tax, higher tariffs on EVs, and import quotas on Chinese steel.

👵 South Korea enters the “super-aging” era: The number of seniors has surpassed 10 million, and more than 36% of Koreans now live alone. Nursing homes are at capacity, single-person households have become the norm, while daycare centers and classrooms are shrinking. As a result, demand for care robots, neighborhood support, and new housing concepts is rising for a society that is turning gray at record speed.

COUNTRY READS

🇵🇭 A young Filipina rescued a baby and an elderly woman from a high-rise fire in Hong Kong and is now being celebrated as a heroine. More here.

🇯🇵 Japan recorded more brain-dead organ donors than ever in 2025, but still lags far behind in international comparison. More here.

🇲🇾 A startup from Malaysia is bringing AI-powered shopping carts with self-checkout, scan-and-pay, and real-time personalized offers to retail. More here.

BITS TO DO

✅ Get hooked on this true-crime story from China.
✅ Roll your own Arabic sushi at home.*
✅ Spend a small fortune on a simple bottle of Coke at this Michelin-starred restaurant in Hong Kong. 👀
✅ Start making moving plans in case World War III breaks out.
✅ Finish this mega curry bowl in Singapore within 30 minutes and it’s on the house.