Coupang has filed a lawsuit against the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) seeking to overturn its decision to designate founder Kim Beom-seok as the company's individual representative.
According to Yonhap News on May 11, Coupang submitted the lawsuit to the Seoul High Court on May 8, contesting the FTC's designation. The company also filed for a suspension of the enforcement of this designation on May 9.
On April 29, the FTC changed the designation of Coupang's representative from the corporation to the individual, Kim Beom-seok. This marks the first time since Coupang was classified as a corporate group with total assets exceeding 5 trillion won in 2021 that the FTC has altered its designation.
The FTC determined that Kim's brother, Kim Yoo-seok, is effectively involved in Coupang's management, which led to the conclusion that the criteria for designating an individual representative instead of a corporation had been met. Under the Fair Trade Act, if an individual is designated as the representative, the corporate group must disclose additional information about stock ownership and transaction history of relatives, and the scope of regulations on profit-sharing is also expanded.
Previously, Coupang responded to the FTC's announcement by stating, "Neither Kim nor his relatives hold shares in Korean affiliates, so there is no concern for profit-sharing issues," and indicated plans to pursue administrative litigation.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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