Kyobo Book Center, the nation’s largest bookstore, has come under fire for allegedly forcing publishing companies to participate in its newly launched e-book service.

The Korea Publishers Society, a body representing some 420 publishers, accused the bookseller of unfair business practices by abusing its superior position. It also claimed that some publishers were forced to buy the e-book reader released by Kyobo.

“We have received complaints from publishing houses that Kyobo Book Center did not give due exposure to the books from companies which refused to join Kyobo’s program. They also suffered disadvantages in terms of display space at offline shops,” the group said on its official website.

The organization pledged stern action against Kyobo and sent out a survey to its member firms to look into allegations of unfair practices by the dominant bookseller.

In February, Kyobo Book Center launched an e-book lending program called Sam, and its own dedicated e-book reader, allowing subscribers to read e-books on various devices including PCs and smartphones with a fixed annual payment.

Korea’s publishing industry has expressed concerns over Kyobo’s aggressive e-book business for fear that it could threaten the still-fragile ecosystem of the domestic e-book market.

Jin Young-gyun of Kyobo’s brand management team denied the allegation and said the company has no plans to respond to the organization.

“It is a completely false assertion. The project was aimed at nurturing coprosperity of the market and creating a bigger pie by increasing the number of readers,” Jin said.

In three months, Kyobo signed up 12,000 paying customers and 450 publishing companies for its e-book membership program.

By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)