South Korea fines Coupang $1.6 million
South Korea’s antitrust regulator has fined Coupang Inc 2.2 billion won (about $1.6 million) for pressuring suppliers to cut prices, shifting costs onto vendors, and delaying payments.
The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) said the e-commerce giant violated the country’s large-scale retail business law by demanding reductions in supply prices and requiring suppliers to cover advertising and other program fees to meet internal profit margin targets, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
According to the regulator, Coupang used retaliatory measures, including suspending or reducing orders, when suppliers refused to comply. Authorities said the company set gross margin goals and leveraged order cuts or threats of cuts if vendors failed to meet expectations.
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In a separate violation, the KFTC found that Coupang delayed payments in more than 508,000 direct purchase transactions involving over 25,000 suppliers between October 2021 and June 2024. The total delayed amount reached approximately 281 billion won.
By Aysel Mammadzada
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