Shinsegae Bets on Alibaba Tie-Up to Revive Gmarket, Break Duopoly of Coupang and Naver (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Sept. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s antitrust regulator on Thursday conditionally approved a joint venture between Shinsegae Group’s Gmarket and Alibaba’s AliExpress Korea, clearing the way for a new challenger to disrupt a market long dominated by Coupang and Naver.
The tie-up, structured as a 50:50 joint company under Grand Opus Holding, will fold both Gmarket and AliExpress Korea into a “two families under one roof” model, while maintaining operational independence.
The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) attached safeguards requiring strict separation of domestic consumer data and prohibiting the platforms from sharing overseas direct-purchase information.
Executives pitched the alliance as both a defensive move and a growth play. “Building a strategic alliance with AliExpress was an unavoidable decision to secure market leadership,” Gmarket CEO Jung Hyung-kwon told employees, pledging to pair Gmarket’s trusted platform with Alibaba’s vast product base.
Shinsegae Gangnam (Image courtesy of Shinsegae)
The move gives 600,000 Gmarket and Auction sellers access to Alibaba’s global e-commerce network spanning more than 200 countries. At the same time, Chinese-made products from AliExpress are expected to gain a stronger foothold in Korea, backed by Shinsegae’s logistics expertise.
Analysts say the deal could restore financial stability to Gmarket, which has posted years of losses, while helping AliExpress shed its reputation for counterfeit and low-quality goods.
The joint venture arrives as Korea’s online retail sector enters a three-way battle. Coupang remains the undisputed leader with 34.2 million monthly active users (MAUs), but the combined reach of AliExpress (9.2 million), Gmarket (6.7 million) and Auction (2.7 million) now exceeds 18 million, outpacing Naver’s 4.3 million.
Coupang is aggressively expanding its fresh food business in 2025. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
The competition comes against a volatile backdrop. Early pioneers such as Interpark and 11st have faded, while pandemic-era growth cemented Coupang and Naver as duopolists. Recently, Chinese players AliExpress and Temu have shaken the market with ultra-cheap goods, contributing to the collapse of several smaller Korean platforms.
With Shinsegae and Alibaba now aligned, analysts expect intensifying price competition, especially as more Chinese-made consumer goods flow through Gmarket. Questions remain, however, about whether the merged scale will translate into profitability, given limited brand loyalty on both sides.
Meanwhile, Coupang is doubling down on nationwide rocket delivery, and Naver is strengthening fresh food delivery through its new partnership with Kurly. Some industry observers believe Shinsegae’s SSG.com may eventually fold its fresh food operations into the alliance to close the gap.
Beyond business strategy, the deal has stirred unease. Critics warn that sharing an ecosystem with Alibaba raises risks of Korean consumer data exposure to China, despite regulatory safeguards.
Still, for Shinsegae, the move marks a bold bet: challenging two entrenched giants by marrying its retail expertise with Alibaba’s global scale. The question now is whether the alliance can deliver both trust at home and reach abroad — without sparking a bruising race to the bottom.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
