The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) has launched an investigation into Coupang's online advertisements that cause inconvenience to users, amid Coupang's statement that it will "actively cooperate with the KCC investigation."

A Coupang delivery vehicle is parked in a parking lot in Jung-gu, Seoul. /Courtesy of News1

Coupang stated on the 20th regarding the KCC's commencement of the investigation that it has "continuously taken strict measures against the fraudulent advertising practices of some malicious advertisers, including suspending revenue payments, taking account action, and operating a reward system for reports," adding, "We will actively cooperate with this KCC investigation and strive to come up with measures to eradicate the fraudulent advertisements of some malicious advertisers in collaboration with the KCC."

Coupang also emphasized that it has clarified fraudulent advertising practices in previous investigations conducted by other institutions. Coupang stated, "We have already adequately clarified the same matters in investigations by other institutions, confirming that there are no issues," and "We will actively clarify our efforts to protect users in this KCC investigation as well."

Earlier, the KCC determined that Coupang caused user inconvenience with "kidnapping advertisements" that forcibly moved users to its own website or app from various websites or social media (SNS) platforms, leading to the commencement of a factual investigation.

The KCC plans to investigate Coupang's failure to support the individual withdrawal from services such as Coupang Eats and Coupang Play under the pretext of a unified account system. It will examine whether such behavior constitutes the "restriction of users' cancellation rights" prohibited by the Telecommunications Business Act.