South Korea fines Coupang $220 million for abusing dominance in food delivery market
CPNG•South Korea’s antitrust regulator fined Coupang 300.9 billion won ($220.59 million) for anticompetitive practices in food delivery. Coupang called the penalty excessive and said it would challenge the decision in court.
1. Regulator’s findings
The Korea Fair Trade Commission said Coupang required merchants to match favourable terms offered on rival platforms and penalised those that did not, restricting competition in the delivery app sector. The requirements covered six conditions, including menu prices, minimum order amounts, discounts and delivery charges. Restaurants that failed to comply risked losing a designation that let them offer discounts and free delivery to Coupang paid-membership customers.
2. Fine and challenge
The regulator said the share of restaurants meeting the requirements rose to nearly 94% in October 2025 from about 13% in July 2023. Coupang said the penalty was more than 600 times the fine in a comparable 2020 case and argued the regulator included revenue unrelated to the alleged conduct. It said it would challenge the decision through legal proceedings. The FTC also fined Woowa Brothers, operator of rival app Baemin, 331.1 billion won for similar practices.
3. Wider tensions
The ruling adds to tensions between Coupang and South Korean authorities. The company was fined 624 billion won in June over a 2025 data breach affecting more than 33 million customers, findings it has disputed. Republican US lawmakers have accused Seoul of discriminating against an American company, a claim South Korean officials reject.
