Members of civic groups hold a press conference on Coupang Inc.’s false reviews in Seoul on March 15, 2022. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, March 23 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s antitrust regulator will investigate e-commerce giant Coupang Inc., suspected of mobilizing employees to post false reviews on private brand (PB) products for more exposure and to attract customers, industry sources said Tuesday.
Civic groups had filed reports with the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) about the suspected act by Coupang and its subsidiary CPLB, leading to an investigation.
Normally, cases reported to the FTC are dealt with by regional offices.
This time, however, its headquarters will lead the investigation, considering the case’s potential social impact.
Last week, civic groups held a press conference claiming that Coupang forced employees to write false reviews since last July without any proper compensation, to bring more exposure to the company’s private brand products.
The FTC has also been investigating Coupang for another illicit act of manipulating algorithms to prioritize Coupang’s PB products on the top of its rankings since June of last year.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
