South Korea’s antitrust regulator has penalised e-commerce company Coupang Won300.9bn ($220.5m) for exploiting its market dominance in the meal delivery sector, Reuters reported.
The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) found that Coupang constrained competition by obliging food vendors to replicate the most favourable commercial terms given to rival platforms, penalising those that did not comply.
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Under these mandates, dining establishments were required to match six specific conditions, covering menu pricing, minimum spend thresholds, promotional price cuts, and delivery charges.
Vendors failing to adhere to the rules risked losing a programme designation that enabled them to provide price discounts and complimentary delivery to Coupang’s subscription customers.
The proportion of dining outlets observing these requirements grew from around 13% in July 2023 to nearly 94% in October 2025, Reuters added citing regulatory data.
Coupang told the news agency that the financial penalty was “excessive”. Verdict Food Service has reached out to the company for further comment.
The dispute adds to broader friction between South Korean authorities and the US-listed firm, following a separate Won624bn penalty in June over a 2025 data incident that compromised details of more than 33 million clients, according to the news agency.
Coupang challenged the state’s actions in that matter.
KFTC also issued a Won331.1bn penalty to Woowa Brothers, the company behind rival delivery service Baemin, for engaging in similar practices.
Woowa Brothers stated that it had provided arguments to the regulator showing its behaviour was not unlawful. It also expressed regret that these points were dismissed while confirming plans to examine the decision thoroughly.
