** Shares of online retailer Coupang CPNG.N rise 5.6% to $24.06 premarket
** Co said on Thursday that the suspect has deleted all leaked customer information, per emailed statement
** Former employee allegedly downloaded personal data of about 3,000 customers out of CPNG's 33 mln customers, which was deleted without third-party transfer
** South Korea's science ministry said the incident remains under investigation and CPNG's claims have not been confirmed by authorities
** Earlier this week, co has also been sued in a U.S. court in an investor class action alleging violations of securities laws
** The breach, described as South Korea's worst in over a decade, compromised personal data of about 33 mln co's customers
** Through Wednesday's close, the stock had risen 3.7% year-to-date but has dropped about 19% since December 1 when the news of the breach was first reported
(Reporting by Ragini Mathur)
((Ragini.Mathur@thomsonreuters.com;))