Coupang has been fined 2.19 billion won ($1.53 million) and ordered to take corrective measures for violating the Large-scale Retail Business Act, the Fair Trade Commission said Thursday, citing unfair pressure on suppliers and delayed payments.
The regulator found that from January 2020 to October 2022, Coupang set margin targets for suppliers and closely monitored performance. When suppliers failed to meet those targets, the company demanded lower delivery prices or required them to shoulder additional costs, including advertising fees. Some suppliers were pressured with threats of order suspensions or reductions.
Between October 2021 and June 2024, Coupang also delayed payments for directly purchased goods beyond the legally mandated 60-day deadline. Some payments were overdue by as much as 233 days. The total delayed amount reached 2.8 billion won, with 850 million won in overdue interest.
In addition, from September 2020 to June 2024, the company failed to return 530 million won worth of unsold goods under its “Coupang Experience Group” program.
The FTC concluded that Coupang effectively shifted the burden of margin reductions stemming from its low-price policy onto suppliers, undermining fair direct purchase transactions.
“Coupang, as a dominant online retailer, forced suppliers to bear the cost of maintaining its profits and applied retaliatory pressure,” said Jo Won-shik, director of the FTC’s distribution investigation division.
The case marks the first sanction under the legal payment deadline introduced in April 2021.
yeeun@heraldcorp.com
