Court suspends FTC's designation of Coupang founder as 'identical person'

The Seoul High Court has partially granted an injunction, suspending the Fair Trade Commission's (FTC) designation of Coupang Inc. founder Kim Bom as the e-commerce giant's de facto controlling entity. The designation of Kim as an 'identical person' is subject to tighter oversight, including disclosure requirements on intra-family transactions and rules governing holding company structures.

The court's decision means the effect of the FTC's May 1 designation is suspended until 30 days after the judgment on the main lawsuit. The court stated there is an urgent need to prevent irrecoverable losses for Coupang and that the suspension would not go against public welfare.

Coupang Corp., the South Korean unit of the U.S.-listed company, had filed both a lawsuit and an injunction request to overturn the FTC's decision. Previously, Coupang qualified for an exception where the company itself, rather than an individual, could be designated as the identical person. However, the FTC argued that Coupang no longer meets the conditions for this exception due to the effective involvement of Kim Bom's younger brother, Yoo Kim, in management as a vice president.