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Coupang founder apologises over data leak

PARIS: The suspect in the stabbing of three women in the Paris metro has been released from custody and moved to a psychiatric hospital. The man was arrested suspected of stabbing three women in the Paris metro on Friday as the capital’s end-of year festivities were in full swing. The three victims were attacked at three different locations. They were injured, but not critically. Continued police custody was not appropriate for the suspect because it is “considered incompatible with the state of his health”, the prosecutors’ office said. Police had used surveillance camera footage and mobile-tracking tools to find the 25-year-old suspect in the Val d’Oise region north of Paris. The Interior Ministry said the man was a Malian citizen imprisoned in January last year for aggravated theft and sexual assault. He had been required to leave France after being released in July. The man had been placed in an administrative detention centre but failure to obtain a consular travel document required for his deportation had meant he was released after 90 days, as required by law, the statement said. – AFP Paris stabbing suspect moved to hospital recaptured after being located in a bushy area. Visitors were forced to flee to safety inside buildings and other areas. No injuries have been reported. The zoo initially stopped allowing visitors to enter for safety reasons, but later announced it would not reopen on the day. Tama Zoological Park, which opened in 1958, houses some 260 species from inside Japan and overseas, according to its website. – Bernama OPEN AI HIRES CHIEF SECURITY OFFICER WASHINGTON: OpenAI, the developer of the ChatGPT chatbot, will hire a chief security officer for artificial intelligence (AI) who will focus on identifying threats and ways to combat them, said its CEO Sam Altman. “If you want to help the world figure out how to enable cybersecurity defenders with cutting edge capabilities while ensuring attackers can’t use them for harm, please consider applying,” Altman said on X. The post said “Head of Preparedness” will be paid US$555,000 (RM2.2 million) a year. He said humanity is entering a world where it was necessary to have a more accurate understanding of how neural networks could be abused. – Bernama WOLF RECAPTURED AFTER ZOO ESCAPE TOKYO: A zoo in western Tokyo was forced to close for much of yesterday after a wolf escaped from its enclosure, though the facility operator confirmed it had been recaptured inside the park later in the day. According to the Tama Zoological Park in Hino, a zoo attendant spotted the wolf on a public pathway after the facility’s opened in the morning. The European wolf was

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public apology until all the facts surrounding the leak had been confirmed. “In retrospect, it was a wrong judgment.” Reiterating Coupang’s claim, Kim said it had been confirmed that the customer information stored on the suspect’s computer was limited to 3,000 records, which he said had not been leaked or sold externally. “Coupang has completed the full recovery of 100% of the leaked customer information in cooperation with the government.” Police said the leak occurred through Coupang’s overseas servers between June 24 and Nov 8. According to police and local media, the company became aware of the breach only last month, when it filed a complaint against the

added further frustration. The personal data of more than 33 million customers, about two thirds of South Korea’s population, had been affected. But Coupang has said that only 3,000 customer records were involved, a figure authorities have yet to confirm. “We have caused significant concern and inconvenience to our customers and the public due to the personal data breach,” Kim said in a statement posted on the company’s website yesterday, his first direct message on the matter since it emerged a month ago. “I sincerely apologise for the inadequate initial response and lack of communication.” Kim said he initially believed it would be best to wait to issue a

alleged culprit, a former employee who is a Chinese national. The suspect has not yet been apprehended. Coupang is now facing a class action lawsuit in the United States, where its global headquarters is located and it is listed on the stock market, over the breach. While Kim has apologised publicly for the first time, he has declined to attend parliamentary hearings on Tuesday and Wednesday, citing scheduling conflicts and his overseas residence, said Choi Min-hee, the lawmaker set to chair the sessions. “What schedule could be more important than this?” Choi wrote in a Facebook post, calling Kim’s refusal “a disregard for, and mockery of, the parliament”. – AFP

o Firm faces US class-action suit

SEOUL: Founder of South Korea’s e-commerce giant Coupang, Kim Bom-suk, apologised yesterday over a data leak that shook confidence among more than 30 million customers. The apology follows revelations that customer data at Coupang had been leaked by a former employee, prompting a police search of the company earlier this month amid mounting public backlash over what critics described as efforts to play down the incident. Kim’s repeated refusals to appear before a parliamentary hearing have

TUNES OF DEFIANCE ... Slovenian artistes in the capital Ljubljana stage a protest on Saturday by playing accordions after the government banned street musicians during Christmas. – REUTERSPIC

New Nepal alliance vows to address youth demands

KATHMANDU: Two of Nepal’s most popular political leaders forged a new alliance yesterday ahead of next year’s election, a move that is likely to challenge the long dominant traditional parties. Television host Rabi Lamichhane, the 51-year-old chairperson of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), and Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah pledged to address the demands of the younger generation following September’s anti-corruption protests that ousted the government. Swarnim Wagle, vice-chairman of RSP, called the alliance a “rare combination of courage, sacrifice

political transition and helped form the interim government led by Sushila Karki after the ousting of K.P. Sharma Oli’s government. Karki held meetings on Saturday with Oli, Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba and Nepali Communist Party coordinator Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the first such consultation since the uprising. After the meeting, Karki wrote on social media that the election was a shared responsibility. “The government is committed to guaranteeing a free and fear-free environment. We are working in a manner that leaves no room for doubt,” she said. – AFP

candidate for prime minister. “Consensus should not be as the leader seeks, it should be what the country needs,”Lamichhane said in a statement on social media after the deal was signed. Lamichhane, who was recently released on bail in connection with cooperative fraud and organised crime, is a popular television host in the Himalayan republic. He set up the RSP in 2022, tapping into discontent with Nepal’s elderly political leadership and becoming the deputy premier and interior minister. Shah, popularly known as “Balen”, is seen as a popular figure in the

and hope” for the country as it gears up for the March 5 election. “The new generation of leaders have united by putting nation above self, in tune with the aspirations of the youth of Nepal,”Wagle said. At least 77 people were killed during the Sept 8-9 youth-led uprising that was triggered by anger over a brief ban on social media, building on public frustration after years of economic stagnation and allegations of entrenched political corruption. According to the agreement, Lamichhane will remain the party’s chairman, while rapper-turned mayor Shah, 35, will be the