FTC Says Younger Brother’s Role Breaks Exemption Rules while Coupang Rejects Decision and Signals Possible Lawsuit
Bom Kim, Chairman of Coupang Inc., has been designated as the “same person” (conglomerate head) of Coupang.
The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) announced the results of its 2026 designation of business groups subject to disclosure on April 29. As the market had expected, the FTC designated Kim Bom, chairman of Coupang Inc., as Coupang’s same person (group chief). It based the decision on its finding that Kim’s younger brother, Kim Yu-seok, vice president of Coupang Inc., is substantively participating in management. The move came five years after Coupang was designated a business group subject to disclosure.
Coupang was designated a business group subject to disclosure in 2021 after its total assets exceeded 5 trillion won ($3.39 billion). However, Kim, the effective controller of Coupang, had avoided designation as the same person on the grounds that he was a foreign national, prompting controversy over preferential treatment.
Although the Enforcement Decree of the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act was revised in 2024 to allow foreign nationals to be designated as the same person, the FTC had continued to judge that Kim met the requirements for an exception to same-person designation.
Under the Enforcement Decree of the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act, the exceptional conditions apply when there is no risk of self-dealing by related parties, specifically ▲when the natural person controlling the business group does not invest in, lend funds to, or guarantee debt for domestic affiliates of relatives, ▲ when the relative does not serve as an executive, and ▲when the relative does not participate in the management of domestic affiliates.
The FTC said its judgment changed after a recent on-site inspection confirmed that Vice President Kim Yu-seok was substantively participating in Coupang’s management. The FTC determined that Kim holds one of the highest ranks within Coupang, making his role similar to that of a representative director of an affiliate, and that his compensation and treatment are also at a level comparable to that of a registered executive. It also confirmed that he had hosted meetings on logistics and delivery policy hundreds of times and was exercising influence over the direction of execution of work related to Coupang’s major businesses.
At a briefing held at the government complex in Sejong on April 29, Choi Jang-gwan, director general of the FTC’s Business Group Monitoring Bureau, said, “Since the hearing at the end of last year (the National Assembly hearing related to Coupang’s personal information leak), we believe (Vice President Kim’s) position had already been made public,” adding, “What was important was not the formal aspects of title and compensation, but whether he was substantively involved in company management and whether his compensation level was similar to that of a registered executive.”
As a designated same person, Kim will now be required under the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act to submit designation materials, disclose transactions involving relatives, and comply with the prohibition on private benefit provision.
Coupang immediately objected. In a statement, the company said, “Coupang Inc., as a U.S.-listed company, complies with the related-party disclosure obligations required by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC),” adding, “Vice President Kim is not an executive under the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act and does not hold shares in Korean affiliates.” As Coupang has indicated it is prepared to pursue an administrative lawsuit, the controversy is expected to continue for some time.
Unlike Coupang, Dunamu, the operator of cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, retained a corporation as its same person. In 2022, Dunamu became both a business group subject to disclosure and a business group subject to restrictions on mutual investment after its total assets exceeded 10 trillion won (0.5% of the most recently finalized nominal GDP at the time), and founder and Chairman Song Chi-hyung was designated as the same person.
However, in 2024, Dunamu applied for a change, arguing that it qualified for an exception to same-person designation under the revised Enforcement Decree of the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act, and the FTC accepted the request. This year as well, the FTC kept the Dunamu corporation as the same person, allowing Chairman Song to avoid same-person designation for a third consecutive year.
Jung Suk-yee
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