The Emart union, referring to the recent Coupang personal information leak, said offline retail regulations created Coupang's monopoly structure. While calling for fair competition and reasonable regulations for consumers, it also emphasized the need for government support to develop the retail industry.
The National Emart Labor Union under the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (Emart union) said on the 23rd in a "statement on Coupang and the retail industry," "After the data leak, Coupang, even if it is a foreign company, is acting in a way that is out of step with Korean sentiment," adding, "When raising sales, it enjoys more benefits than domestic corporations, but when it comes to taking responsibility, it backs out by saying it is a foreign company."
Calling Coupang a "monster," the Emart union said, "(The reason Coupang can do this is) because there aren't many choices besides Coupang," and added, "Coupang grew rapidly as more than 13 years of offline retail regulations overlapped with COVID-19, giving it a unique retail ecosystem."
According to the union, Coupang's sales and those of big-box marts crossed in 2023 in a golden cross (reversal). The following year, last year, Coupang's sales surpassed an estimated 36 trillion won (domestic retail segment), overwhelming the three major big-box mart companies (25 trillion won).
The union said, "It is questionable whether consumers' perspectives were reflected in the regulations on offline big-box marts and whether the effect matched the stated intent." It added, "In the meantime, store closures have increased and nearly 10,000 workers have disappeared," and "The Homeplus Co. situation—where employees' salaries are paid in installments and even electricity bills and other taxes are in arrears—is shocking."
The union continued, "We don't know who would acquire an industry with limits where government regulations persist," and said, "If regulations are to continue, we hope to create an industrial transition task force (TF) with the participation of the government, corporations, and workers, and to pursue exit strategies for retail workers and companies in parallel."
However, it expressed concern about a business suspension for Coupang. The union said, "If business is suspended out of emotion, 75% of the sellers on Coupang are small and medium-sized corporations and small merchants, so what about the damage to them?" adding, "It would also be hard to bear the inconvenience to consumers."
The union added, "Even now, we hope to see fair competition between online and offline, between irresponsible foreign corporations and homegrown Korean corporations, reasonable regulations for consumers, and government-level support for the development of the retail industry."