South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) has levied a provisional administrative fine of Won300.8bn ($222.8m) against online retailer Coupang for practices including most-favoured-nation (MFN) requirements in its delivery application business.
According to the regulator, Coupang abused its market-dominant position by compelling merchants to provide terms equal to or better than those offered on rival services.
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Coupang entered the sector as a late participant in May 2019, charging higher commissions than the market leader, Baedal Minjok, also known as Baemin.
In response, numerous merchants provided less favourable terms to consumers on Coupang, such as higher menu prices.
Baedal Minjok’s operator, Woowa Brothers, was also penalised, receiving a provisional Won331.1bn fine from the KFTC over MFN demands, compulsory shifts to own-delivery services, and deceptive advertising regarding estimated delivery times.
From April 2023, Coupang restricted delivery benefits for members of its WOW Membership scheme exclusively to transactions at “WOW Stores”.
From July 2023 and January 2026, Coupang enforced MFN terms across six transaction areas, including operating hours and menu pricing, by stripping non-compliant businesses of their WOW Store designation.
A total of 57,907 merchants were removed from the status at least once for non-compliance, with the proportion of compliant WOW Stores rising from 13.49% in July 2023 to 93.78% in October 2025.
The KFTC concluded that the conduct constituted both an abuse of a market-dominant position and an abuse of superior bargaining position under the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act, noting that it diminished commission competition among platforms.
According to the translated version of the regulator’s statement, corrective remedies ordered include prohibition, publication, notification, deletion, reporting, and education requirements.
Separately, the KFTC ordered revisions to a provision in the “Coupang Eats Merchant Pricing Policy” that calculates the “order amount” based on pre-discount retail prices, which resulted in sellers incurring fees on self-funded discounts.
Coupang must amend this clause within 60 days from receipt of the corrective order.
The watchdog also instructed a re-examination regarding “Coupang’s coercive transaction conduct” after differing interpretations in the examiner’s report concerning principal and secondary products constrained the deliberation.
