[THE INVESTOR] The Korea Fair Trade Commission is probing e-commerce firms on suspicion of unfair trade practices, according to sources familiar with the issue on June 21.

The antitrust agency conducted a field investigation on Coupang and Ticket Monster and secured evidence of unfair transactions of the two, including delayed payments to suppliers and unissued supply contracts.


Jeong Jae-Chan, chairman of FTC, has said last month that the agency would start cracking down on social commerce and online shopping malls in June “regarding violation of regulations and will improve the whole industry.”

“As far as I know, all e-commerce firms made changes to their operations to adhere to the trade regulations last month,” said an industry source on a condition of anonymity. “I believe we don’t have any problem regarding this issue.” 

By Park Yu-na (yunapark@heraldcorp.com)