The Fair Trade Commission is expected to sanction Coupang for allegedly delaying payments to sellers without providing delayed interest.
According to the industry on the 17th, the Fair Trade Commission recently completed its investigation related to violations of the Large-Scale Distribution Business Act and sent Coupang a review report containing sanctions opinions.
Coupang is accused of paying sellers beyond the legal settlement period of 60 days for direct purchase delivery payments and failing to provide delayed interest.
The unpaid delayed interest is reported to amount to hundreds of millions of won. According to the Fair Trade Commission's notice, if payments are made after 60 days, the delayed interest is 15.5% per annum.
The Fair Trade Commission plans to hold a plenary session soon to decide on the level of sanctions against Coupang, including corrective orders or penalty surcharges.
Industry forecasts suggest that the Fair Trade Commission will actively promote the shortening of payment settlement periods for direct purchase online intermediary platforms as a result of this sanction.
In this year's work plan, the Fair Trade Commission announced it will amend the Large-Scale Distribution Business Act to mandate adherence to payment settlement deadlines for online intermediary platforms.
It has stated that it will review whether the payment settlement period (40 to 60 days) for direct purchase distributors is appropriate and pursue its shortening.