[News Today] “Kim Bom-suk named controlling figure”

[LEAD]

The Fair Trade Commission has designated Coupang founder Kim Bom-suk as the company's controlling figure.

It reverses its previous stance that Coupang Inc. itself was the controlling entity.

The decision was largely based on the involvement of Kim's brother in management in Korea.

[REPORT]

Kim Yoo-suk, vice president at Coupang’s U.S. headquarters and the younger brother of Coupang founder Kim Bom-suk, was dispatched to Korea to oversee the delivery operations unit.

Coupang has consistently claimed that he is simply an employee.

Harold Rogers / CEO, Coupang (Hearing on Dec. 30, 2025)

He is an employee. [So he's vice president but not an executive?] He is not an executive officer.

However the Fair Trade Commission determined that vice president Kim is a top-level executive.

It cited facts that he presided over hundreds of logistics and delivery related meetings and led key decision making such as changing deadline times for same-day deliveries.

Choi Jang-gwan / Fair Trade Commission

He had management involvement and influence. We found a risk of related-party private interest taking.

For the past five years, the controlling figure or entity of Coupang, referred to in legal term as the 'same person' was Coupang Inc., but based on findings that a family member was involved in management, the FTC this year designated Kim Bom-suk as the 'same person' or controlling figure.

Since neither of the brothers holds shares in any domestic firm, there is no immediate change to Coupang’s Korean affiliates.

However Kim Bom-suk will now bear legal and social responsibility as head of the group.

He will be subject to regulations applied to corporate groups such as disclosure duty and restrictions on channeling work to affiliates.

Coupang said that under the Fair Trade Act, Vice President Kim is not an executive staff and vowed to challenge the watchdog's decision through an administrative lawsuit.