South Korea fines Coupang 300.8 billion won for anticompetitive delivery practices

South Korea's Fair Trade Commission fined CPNG 300.8 billion won, about $220 million, on November 9 for abusing its dominant position in the food-delivery market. The regulator fined Woowa Brothers, operator of market leader Baemin, 331.1 billion won in the same action, bringing the combined penalties to 631.9 billion won, a record for delivery-app cases.

The commission found that the platforms pressured restaurants to match the prices and discounts they offered on rival apps, a most-favored-nation practice. Merchants that did not comply could lose Coupang Eats' preferential "Wow Store" status, according to the regulator. The fine amounts are provisional and may be adjusted when finalized.

Coupang called the penalty excessive and said it plans to file an administrative lawsuit. The fine is modest against Coupang's overall revenue, but it targets the merchant terms that underpin Coupang Eats' growth, and remedies could limit how the company competes on price with Baemin.

What to watch: the outcome of Coupang's legal challenge, any changes the regulator requires to merchant contracts, and whether Korea's broader push to regulate platform companies extends to Coupang's core e-commerce business.