Coupang employs third-largest number of workers after Samsung, Hyundai

Coupang has risen in the ranks to have the third highest employee numbers. / Courtesy of Coupang

By Kim Jae-heun

Coupang is now the third-largest employer in Korea, after Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor.

According to data provided by the National Pension Service (NPS) and the firm evaluation website CEO Score, Coupang and its fulfillment service division employed 43,171 people as of the third quarter this year.

Coupang ranked fourth in the previous quarter just behind LG Electronics. As a result, Coupang proved that it is not just creating jobs temporarily but consistently and in large numbers through continuous investment.

In fact, it created the most new jobs in the country this year.

Between February and September, Coupang created 13,744 new jobs, the NPS said. This is more than double the 3,025 jobs and 2,895 jobs combined that Hanwha Solutions and Samsung Electronics created, respectively, and 2,000 more than total from companies ranked fourth to 10th. Hanwha Solutions and Samsung Electronics ranked second and third in creating the most new jobs in the period.

Analysts say Coupang's new job supply is a big boost to working-class households as well as the Korean economy amid the nation's unemployment rate that has been at its highest since October 2000.

Coupang also created more than seven times the 1,833 jobs that were lost in the country's top 500 firms ― a figure nearly 30 times the 463 jobs created by the other local e-commerce firms.

Meanwhile, Coupang's job creation was largely attributed to the increase in the company's delivery workers.

These delivery workers are directly employed by Coupang and are guaranteed to work only 52 hours a week. They also enjoy 15 days of annual leave and severance pay as per Korean labor regulations.

The workers are provided with healthcare programs that include four major insurances, including industrial insurance, and comprehensive health checkups.

Coupang also has hired 4,400 additional delivery workers to improve working conditions where there has been a labor shortage due to the increase in demand for online shopping. This helped Coupang employ 10,000 delivery employees as of the end of July.

“Coupang is the only company that has recently achieved both business growth and high employment like Samsung and Hyundai,” a Coupang official said. “We will continue to create a quality working environment through further hiring and investment in employees.”