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South Korea Regulator’s Move on Coupang Founder Triggers Planned Lawsuit

By  |  April 29, 2026

South Korea’s leading e-commerce company Coupang is preparing to challenge a recent decision by the country’s antitrust regulator that formally identifies its founder, Kim Bom-suk, as the controlling figure of the business group, according to The Korea Times.

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    The Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) on Wednesday released its annual list of large business groups subject to disclosure requirements and named Kim — widely known as Bom Kim — as the “same person” of Coupang. This legal designation refers to an individual deemed to exert effective control over a conglomerate, per The Korea Times.

    The move marks a significant shift in how Coupang is regulated. Under the designation, Kim and his relatives will be required to disclose detailed information regarding governance structures and shareholdings. It also places the company under stricter scrutiny for potential issues such as unfair intra-group transactions and circular investments, according to The Korea Times.

    Kim, who holds U.S. citizenship, is now the second foreign national to be recognized as a controlling individual of a Korean conglomerate, following OCI Holdings Chairman Lee Woo-hyun.

    Coupang had previously avoided naming an individual as its controlling figure. Since being classified as a conglomerate in 2021 — after its assets exceeded 5 trillion won — the company had been allowed to designate a corporate entity instead. This exemption applied because the apparent controlling individual and their relatives were not considered involved in managing domestic affiliates, per The Korea Times.

    Read more: South Korea Extends Compliance Measures on Hanwha Shipbuilding Deal Until 2029

    However, the KFTC said new findings prompted the change. Central to the decision was the role of Kim’s younger brother, Kim Yoo-seok, who has been serving as a vice president at Coupang. The regulator stated that he has taken part in major company operations, including leading meetings on logistics and delivery strategies, and receiving compensation comparable to board-level executives, according to The Korea Times.

    Kim Yoo-seok, though not officially registered as an executive, oversees the company’s delivery camp management division. A filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission showed he earned approximately 630 million won in salary last year. Coupang has maintained that he was dispatched from its U.S. headquarters and was not directly involved in management decisions, per The Korea Times.

    The KFTC said it gathered further evidence of his involvement during an on-site inspection of Coupang’s headquarters earlier this year, which followed a major customer data breach in 2025.

    “Information such as his salary and rank had already been disclosed at the National Assembly hearing over the Coupang data breach late last year,” KFTC Business Group Monitoring Bureau Director Choi Jang-gwan said during a press briefing. “The on-site inspection additionally found that Coupang has internal grades tied to participation in major decision-making, and Kim Yoo-seok was ranked near the very top.”

    Source: The Korea Times