A court hearing was held on whether to halt the effect of the Korea Fair Trade Commission's decision designating Coupang founder Bom Kim, chair of Coupang Inc., as the owner (same person). Coupang argued there is no basis to overturn a determination maintained for five years, while the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) countered that it found new grounds during an on-site inspection this year.
According to legal sources on the 16th, the Seoul High Court's Administrative Division 7 (Presiding Judge Kwon Soon-hyeong) held a hearing on Coupang's request to stay execution of the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC)'s decision changing the designation of the same person.
A stay of execution is a procedure that temporarily halts the effect of a disposition until a final ruling in the main administrative lawsuit. Under the Administrative Litigation Act, a court may grant it when there is a risk of irreparable harm and an urgent need is recognized.
At the hearing, Coupang's legal team argued that the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) had designated the Coupang corporation as the same person from 2021 through last year, but in April changed it to Bom Kim as an individual without any change in circumstances. They said Coupang is a foreign-affiliated corporate group with a structure different from domestic corporate groups, and there is no substantive basis to overturn the past five years of determinations. They also argued that applying domestic corporate group standards to a foreign-affiliated corporation as is imposes excessive obligations.
Coupang stressed that maintaining the same-person designation would cause irreparable harm. As a U.S.-listed company, Coupang said it could face the risk of investor class-action lawsuits if it must disclose information beyond the scope required by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It added that because Chair Kim does not separately operate any company in Korea, granting a stay would not pose a public-interest problem.
In response, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) rebutted that it lawfully issued the disposition, saying that during this year's on-site inspection it confirmed that Chair Kim's younger brother, Kim Yu-seok, effectively took part in management. The commission said, "Through last year, it was difficult to see that Kim Yu-seok participated in management, so we designated the corporation as the same person, but this year's on-site inspection confirmed Kim Yu-seok's participation in management, creating grounds to change the same person."
It added, "In the large corporate group system, the principle is to designate a natural person as the same person," and "because broad discretion is recognized for the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) in designating the same person, that judgment should be respected absent a particular defect."
Regarding Coupang's claim that it should be exempt because it is a foreign-affiliated corporation, the commission countered that it is only natural for corporations entering overseas markets to comply with local laws, making the argument hard to accept.
On this point, the court said, "The basis for changing the disposition after the on-site inspection is unconvincing," and asked the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) to "clearly organize the grounds that led to a different assessment of Kim Yu-seok." The court said it would issue a decision by July 15, the deadline it set ex officio for the suspension of effect.
Earlier, on Apr. 29, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) changed the same person from the Coupang corporation to Chair Kim, citing as grounds that Kim Yu-seok effectively took part in management. On May 8, Coupang filed an administrative lawsuit to cancel the decision and requested a stay of execution. The Seoul High Court's Administrative Division 7 then, on May 14, ex officio suspended the effect of the disposition until June 15.