South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday ordered the government to review granting “compulsory investigation rights” to administrative agencies, citing the need to impose “realistic” economic sanctions on companies that violate regulations. During a Cabinet meeting, Lee argued that the “social cost of the criminal law system is too high” and that agencies like the Fair Trade Commission require stronger authority to investigate violations.

The directive was explicitly framed as a response to the recent personal data breach at Coupang, which has affected almost 34 million users. Lee questioned whether current criminal penalties are sufficient deterrents for such incidents