Coupang feared to become 1st target for FTC's investigative task force

Coupang is facing the prospect of even tougher regulatory scrutiny, as the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has launched a special investigative task force to investigate complex violations involving dominant platforms, in what appears to be a move targeting the U.S.-listed e-commerce giant.

The FTC launched its 40-member Key Investigation Planning Bureau on Thursday, upgrading its existing investigation team to a bureau-level organization dedicated to major cases involving platforms, large business groups and serious violations affecting consumers and small businesses.

The new bureau comes as Coupang has emerged as one of the most persistent subjects of FTC scrutiny. With the company increasingly challenging the watchdog’s investigations and actions, their disputes expand across search rankings, supplier transactions, discount costs and its food delivery business.

The FTC has not identified its first target, and there is no confirmation that Coupang will be assigned as the first investigation target from the task force.

But the company’s expanding confrontation with the regulator means the launch comes at an unusually sensitive moment. Rather than facing a series of isolated investigations, Coupang could now find its various regulatory disputes examined under a more integrated enforcement structure.

FTC Chairman Ju Biung-ghi has previously cited Coupang when explaining why the new organization was needed, saying platform cases increasingly involve multiple types of alleged violations that cannot be effectively examined by separate departments.

The task force will operate without permanently assigning investigators to specific types of cases, allowing it to pursue complex investigations across business areas.

For Coupang, the timing is difficult to ignore.

The company is currently challenging the FTC in court over an on-site investigation into allegations that it shifted discount costs onto suppliers. Earlier, Coupang refused to cooperate with the inspection, arguing that the FTC had failed to provide the seven-day advance notice.

The Seoul High Court rejected Coupang’s request to suspend the inspection last month, clearing the way for the FTC to resume its investigation.

Coupang filed a further appeal on Monday, arguing that the Supreme Court should review the legality of the investigation procedures and the company’s procedural rights.

The confrontation has also hardened the FTC’s stance toward companies seeking to use court injunctions to delay investigations.

Last month, Ju said the disruption of the Coupang probe was “regrettable” and that the agency would review its investigation rules to close loopholes that allow companies to delay on-site inspections through court proceedings.

He has also argued that failed investigations could undermine the FTC’s ability to protect small businesses dealing with major retailers.

The dispute is only one front in the regulator’s broader regulatory campaign against Coupang.

In 2024, the FTC imposed a fine of 162.8 billion won ($120 million) on Coupang, as its private-label subsidiary, CPLB, was suspected of manipulating search rankings to favor its own products and using employee reviews to promote them. Coupang challenged the sanctions in court.

Coupang Eats is also facing a probe by the watchdog over alleged preferential treatment requirements imposed on restaurants that do business with the food delivery platform.

Industry officials said the accumulation of such cases is precisely what could make Coupang an early subject for the new task force.

“Given that the FTC chief outwardly criticized Coupang, the industry is paying keen attention to whether Coupang will become the first target for the new task force from the watchdog," an official from the industry said.

"Investigators from the task force are now allowed to approach complex cases across multiple business areas at once, making it easier to examine diverse unfair practices from a single platform firm," the official added.