공정위, ‘빈손철수’ 8일만에 쿠팡 현장조사…이번엔 공정거래법 위반 혐의

The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has decided to conduct another site investigation of Coupang, following their refusal to participate in a previous inspection last month. This investigation is focused on potential violations of the Fair Trade Act, separate from the previous case of violating the Large-Scale Distribution Act. According to a synthesis of reports by The Korea Herald, the FTC sent investigation teams to Coupang's headquarters in Seoul's Gukwon-gu district.

More personnel were deployed for this inspection compared to typical site investigations. The FTC is examining whether Coupang is abusing its market dominance, as per the Fair Trade Act. This investigation is not subject to the same service notice requirements as the previous one, as it pertains to an exception where a service notice is not typically required.

Coupang complied with the inspection without objection, despite not participating in the previous one which lasted for 19 days from July 19th. In that case, Coupang claimed the FTC was not following the Administrative Procedure Law, arguing they did not need to provide written notice 7 days before the start of the investigation.

This was the first instance of a business challenging the application of law itself, which is a rare occurrence. Coupang had even filed a lawsuit and requested a stay of enforcement against the scheduled investigation on July 21st. The FTC, however, maintains that the investigation falls under the exceptions to the service notice requirement.

The Director-General of the Fair Trade Commission stated on July 26th, "I intend to file a complaint against Coupang's refusal to cooperate" during a special budget and audit committee meeting in the National Assembly, "This is unprecedented and we must use every means at our disposal."