Coupang Allegedly Accused CJ Olive Young of Engaging in Unfair Business Practices; Files Report to the FTC

Coupang, a leading e-commerce company in South Korea, reported CJ Olive Young Corp. to the country’s Fair Trade Commission (FTC) on Monday, July 24. The company accused the CJ Group’s health and beauty arm of violating certain retail business laws while operating its business.

In its complaint, Coupang said that CJ Olive Young engaged in unfair business practices as it has been discouraging cosmetic manufacturers and retailers from supplying their products to its e-commerce platform. The company said that its rival also stops sellers from doing business with Coupang, as per Pulse News.

With the unfair actions, Coupang said that its entry into the beauty market was a letdown. It also claimed to have incurred substantial losses due to CJ Olive Young’s actions. The company said this happened because it was not able to procure competitive products from suppliers as a result of its rival’s illegal moves.

“CJ Olive Young has been treating Coupang as a competitor since 2019, when Coupang started selling cosmetics in earnest, and has been continuously hindering its entry and growth in the beauty market,” the e-commerce firm stated in its complaint to the FTC. “CJ Olive Young explicitly prohibits suppliers from supplying to Coupang, or penalizes them for selling to Coupang, while imposing exclusive deals on suppliers or hindered their dealings with other businesses.”

Korea Joongang Daily reported that Coupang’s complaint falls under the country’s Article 13 of the Act on Fair Transactions in Large Retail Business. In this order, the regulators specifically forbid large-scale retailers from abusing their dominant market power over suppliers.

Meanwhile, in response to the allegations, CJ Olive Young denied everything that Coupang claimed against the company. The competition board and the FTC have yet to issue statements regarding this issue.

Photo by: Coupang Newsroom