Seoul: Coupang Inc., a major player in South Korea’s e-commerce sector, has emerged as the conglomerate receiving the highest fines from the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) over the past three years, as revealed in a recent parliamentary report.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the report, which was compiled by the FTC and submitted to Rep. Choo Kyung-ho of the main opposition People Power Party, indicates that Coupang was fined a total of 162.8 billion won (US$114.3 million) from the first half of 2022 to the first half of this year. The substantial fine was a result of the company’s manipulation of search algorithms to elevate the “Coupang ranking” of its private-label and directly purchased products.

Following Coupang, Hyundai Motor Group, a prominent car manufacturer, received cumulative fines amounting to 119.4 billion won. The poultry-processing company Harim Group was penalized with 101.6 billion won, and SK Group faced fines totaling 64.5 billion won. Collectively, the top 10 conglomerates were fined 744.6 billion won over the three-year duration.

Hyundai Department Store Group recorded the highest number of violations, with 38 in total, primarily due to several collusion cases involving its furniture affiliate, Hyundai Livart Furniture. Hanssem Co. followed with 33 violations, while SK Group accounted for 31, and Enex Co. registered 28 violations. In total, the top 10 companies breached antitrust laws 243 times during the specified period.