As the fire at Coupang's Incheon Seogu Seoknam-dong 32 Logistics Center continued for a third day, concerns among buyers and sellers are growing over delivery disruptions and suspended sales. Some buyers were notified of order cancellations, and among sellers there is a continuing push to check whether inventory entrusted to the logistics center was lost and how compensation procedures will work.
◇ 5,000-won coupons for some customers with canceled deliveries
According to the retail industry on the 20th, Coupang has reportedly provided coupons worth 5,000 won to some customers whose product deliveries were canceled due to the fire's fallout. An industry official said, "As orders for products that were scheduled to be shipped from the fire-hit logistics center were canceled, it appears that some customers received related notifications."
Over the weekend, social media and online communities saw a wave of posts asking whether the items they ordered were slated to ship from the Incheon 32 Logistics Center, and how refunds and compensation would proceed if deliveries were delayed or canceled.
Some users said, "The scheduled delivery date has passed, but the item has not shipped," and, "If my order is from the Incheon 32 Logistics Center, I want to cancel."
Coupang operates a compensation policy that provides Coupang Cash to buyers if Rocket Delivery items arrive later than the guaranteed date. For items that cannot be delivered, it proceeds with order cancellations and refunds.
◇ Sellers "on edge" over out-of-stock inventory and halted sales
Sellers' anxiety is focused on inventory and sales suspensions. Online cafes where sellers gather were flooded with posts such as, "I sent products to the logistics center, but the inbound quantity shows as zero," "An item that finished inbound processing was suddenly marked sold out on the product page," and "You can't find the product in the Coupang app."
There were also posts asking whether they could be compensated if items waiting for inbound processing at the time of the fire or items already sold were later canceled. Some sellers claimed that not only the 32 Logistics Center where the fire occurred but also inventory stored at other logistics centers in the Incheon area was temporarily switched to an on-hold sales status.
A person running an online mall said, "Coupang inventory was suddenly marked sold out, so I filed an inquiry online," and added, "About half of the items additionally sent to that center dropped out of sellable inventory, so we have to hold on until restocking at the end of this month."
Another seller said, "After the inventory was marked sold out, the product itself can't be searched in the Coupang app," and added, "I'm worried whether we can recover previous sales volumes even after restocking the item."
◇ Inbound halted at five Incheon centers; orders dispersed to nearby centers
On the 19th, Coupang sent an urgent notice to sellers, saying, "Due to the fire at the Incheon logistics center, vehicle entry and inbound processing at Incheon Centers 31, 32, 41, 42 and 43 have been fully suspended, and the fulfillment centers (FC) are in shutdown."
There is no set timeline for resuming normal operations. Coupang said it will issue an additional notice as soon as the restart schedule is confirmed.
Broadly, Coupang's logistics centers store inventory for goods that Coupang purchases and sells directly (Rocket Delivery/1P) and Rocket Growth (2P), the seller-shipped service. Accordingly, when a fire occurs, not only Coupang-held inventory but also items entrusted by external sellers are affected.
Coupang plans to minimize the operational gap by diverting orders handled by the fire-hit logistics center to nearby centers. However, in parts of Incheon and the greater Seoul area, product shortages or delivery delays may occur.
Regarding specific compensation for damages, Coupang said, "For now, we are prioritizing fire suppression and responding accordingly."
The Coupang 32 Logistics Center handles fresh food and general household goods. It has a total floor area of about 300,000 square meters and spans from one basement level to eight floors above ground. The fire broke out on the 6th floor at about 6:54 a.m. on the 18th.
Because the interior structure is complex and there are many combustible materials, the fire has not been fully extinguished more than 50 hours after it began. The center's area is more than twice that of the Deokpyeong Logistics Center in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, where a major fire occurred in 2021. Property damage from the Deokpyeong Logistics Center fire at that time was estimated at about 400 billion won.