Beom-seok Kim Finally Designated as "Coupang Owner"... "Favoritism Controversy" Ends After 5 Years

The controversy surrounding the designation of Beom-seok Kim, Chairman of Coupang Inc., as the "deemed owner (Same Person)" of the company, which has continued for five years, has finally ended with a ruling against Chairman Kim. The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) confirmed substantial evidence that Chairman Kim's biological brother is deeply involved in management, and officially designated Chairman Kim as the Same Person of Coupang. This brings an end, after five years, to the debate over an exception to the designation of a company owner that started when Coupang first entered the list of large business groups in 2021.

Beom-seok Kim, Chairman of Coupang Inc. Coupang.

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On April 29, the KFTC announced the 2026 designation results for business groups subject to disclosure. It changed Coupang's Same Person designation from the corporation to Chairman Beom-seok Kim as an individual. This is the second time a natural person with U.S. citizenship has been designated as a Same Person, following the 2023 designation of Woo-hyun Lee, Chairman of OCI, and it is the first time that the Same Person system has been applied to the CEO of a U.S.-listed company.

In an on-site inspection ahead of this year's designation, the KFTC found that Coupang did not meet one of the exceptions for corporate Same Person status: the clause stating that "relatives must not participate in the management of domestic affiliates." The investigation revealed that Chairman Kim's brother, Kim Yooseok, has exerted dominant influence over the management of major affiliates.

According to the KFTC, Kim served at Coupang with the highest internal rank of Vice President, receiving annual compensation and secretary support equivalent to that of a registered executive. He personally led hundreds of regular and ad hoc meetings on logistics and delivery policy, convened the CEO of Coupang Logistics Service (CLS) to review work performance, and exercised de facto influence on the execution of specific work directions, such as changes in delivery policy. Coupang had previously claimed that it met the exception criteria, stating, "He holds no shares in domestic affiliates and is not a registered executive." The KFTC, however, prioritized actual influence over formal titles.

The KFTC cited Article 38, Paragraph 5 of the Enforcement Decree as the key basis for changing the Same Person designation to Beom-seok Kim. The Commission emphasized, "It is significant that we have resolved the separation of authority and responsibility by aligning the individual who substantially controls the business group with the Same Person who bears ultimate responsibility for the group's policies."

This decision is seen as the KFTC taking a principled stance on the ongoing debate between economic substance and fairness. There have been continuous arguments that it is unreasonable to regard Coupang, whose over 90% of sales are generated in Korea, as a foreign company, as well as claims of reverse discrimination compared to domestic platform owners such as Jaehyun Lee of Naver and Beomsoo Kim of Kakao. After a massive data breach, public opinion led by civic groups has increasingly called for the designation of a Same Person for Coupang.

With Chairman Kim now designated as the Same Person, he is personally responsible for submitting the required documentation going forward. He is also required to disclose overseas affiliates. If the Same Person or a special related party (within four degrees of kinship by blood or within three degrees by marriage) owns 20% or more of the total issued shares of an overseas affiliate, there is an obligation to disclose annually the company name, representative, country of incorporation, business description, shareholder status, and cross-shareholding status.

There are also accompanying obligations to prohibit unfair support and the pursuit of private interests. If the Same Person and relatives own 20% or more of a company's shares, or if a subsidiary owns more than 50% of another company, they are prohibited from providing unfair business opportunities or benefits to entities controlled by the Same Person. Risks related to government audits, such as pressure to appear at the National Assembly, are also expected to increase sharply.

Jeong Wonju, Chairman of Daewoo Construction, newly designated as the same person for Jungheung (left). Photo by Yonhap News.

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The industry is paying close attention to whether Coupang's objections-citing violations of the Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) clause in the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA)-could escalate into a trade dispute. Coupang recently pushed back against calls from the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice for its designation as a Same Person, arguing: ▲there are no concerns over private interest pursuits, making the system's intent irrelevant; ▲it constitutes dual regulation for a listed company headquartered in the United States; ▲it is a discriminatory measure inconsistent with the principle of fairness for other foreign companies; and ▲Chairman Kim's brother is not involved in management.

Coupang filed a formal objection with the KFTC during the Same Person designation process, but it was not accepted. Following the KFTC announcement, Coupang stated, "Chairman Kim and his relatives do not hold any shares in domestic affiliates, so there is no concern regarding pursuit of private interests," and, "Chairman Kim's brother is not an executive (such as CEO, director, auditor, or manager) under the Fair Trade Act, nor does he own shares in domestic affiliates, so the exception criteria for the Same Person designation are met." Coupang added, "We will faithfully present our case through future administrative litigation." There is also the possibility that the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and others may apply trade pressure on the grounds of an MFN violation under the Korea-U.S. FTA.

Choi, Director General of Business Group Surveillance at the KFTC, said, "We do not expect the United States to raise an issue with legitimate law enforcement, and claims of dual regulation are exaggerated."

Meanwhile, Dunamu, which had also been under exception review alongside Coupang, was found to meet all exception criteria, including the absence of relatives' participation in management or concerns over the pursuit of private interests, and thus retained its status as a corporate Same Person. Jungheung Construction changed its Same Person designation from the late founder, Changsun Jung, to his eldest son, Wonju Jung, after the founder's death. Chairman Jung, as the sole shareholder (100%) of the holding company Jungheung Construction, has been recognized for his representative internal and external control over the group.

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