Interpark, Coupang hit for selling 'Rising Sun Flag'

Protective smartphone cases decorated with the Rising Sun Flag of the Japanese imperial military are on sale at Interpark. Courtesy of Professor Seo Kyung-duk

By Park Jae-hyuk

Interpark and Coupang are facing criticism for selling goods with images of the Rising Sun Flag of the Japanese imperial military.

Professor Seo Kyung-duk at Sungshin Women's University in Seoul said Wednesday that Interpark, Coupang and two other domestic online marketplaces were found to sell items decorated with the controversial symbol of Japan's military colonialism during World War II.

The professor typed in “Rising Sun Flag” on 20 e-commerce platforms in Korea and discovered one controversial product on Coupang, three on Interpark and Coocha and four on Daum's e-commerce platform.

The products include protective smartphone cases and notebooks.

Seo, who has been known for campaigning against the flag worldwide, said he conducted the survey to commemorate the 73rd anniversary of the National Liberation Day of Korea.

“The e-commerce firms say they just provide marketplaces for individuals and small- and medium-sized sellers to trade with each other, but their business strategies cannot defend them from criticism for not vetting merchandise with images of the Rising Sun Flag,” he wrote on Facebook.

His recent survey came after his previous inspection on Amazon, which revealed the world's largest e-commerce giant was selling 400 goods decorated with the Rising Sun Flag.

Last week, the professor sent an email to the head of Amazon to explain the historic background behind the flag, urging the company to stop selling the controversial goods. Seo said he would send similar emails to the Korean retailers.

Coupang said it pulled the problematic notebook from its online marketplace.

“We had to spend a few days for the follow-up measure, because the item was uploaded by a seller in another country,” a Coupang spokesman said. “We will enhance monitoring of our platform to prevent similar cases.”

Interpark and the two other e-commerce platforms, however, were selling the protective smartphone cases as of Wednesday morning. They pulled the products from their online marketplaces in the afternoon.

Seo led FIFA to pull the Rising Sun Flag from its Instagram account in May and Japan Airlines to stop using the controversial image embossed on the cover of its in-flight meals in June. Converse also deleted its promotional video clips showing the flag last month, after receiving an email from the professor.