SEOUL, Sept. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — Prosecutors on Monday grilled an e-commerce tycoon believed to be at the center of the large-scale insolvency incidents involving online shopping platforms TIMON and WeMakePrice. Ku Young-bae, CEO of the Singapore-based Qoo10 Group, the parent company of TIMON and WeMakePrice, underwent questioning as a fraud and embezzlement suspect at [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 27 (Korea Bizwire) – The rise of e-commerce in South Korea has led to a steady decline in retail employment, with the number of sales workers decreasing for 60 consecutive months, according to recent government data. Statistics Korea reported on September 26 that the number of sales workers last month stood at 2.55 million, [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — The government will push to shorten the period of payment settlement for e-commerce platforms to their vendors and require that companies separately manage funds needed for payments in an effort to prevent a recurrence of the crisis involving Qoo10-owned marketplaces, the finance ministry said Wednesday. They are part of [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok on Tuesday unveiled policy measures for e-commerce vendors, as such vendors were hit by the recent payment delays of Qoo10-owned platforms TMON and WeMakePrice. Under the measures, the government will shorten a term of payment by e-commerce platforms to vendors, Choi told a meeting with [...]
SEOUL, Jul. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – In a bid to differentiate themselves from online shopping platforms, South Korean department stores are undergoing significant transformations, focusing on experiential retail, premium offerings, and attracting younger consumers. At the Lotte Department Store in Jamsil, Seoul, the 10th floor audio section now boasts three listening rooms. Global audio brands Geneva [...]
SEOUL, Jul. 1 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korean e-commerce platforms appear to be regaining strength after facing intense pressure from Chinese competitors like AliExpress and Temu last year. This resurgence comes as concerns over the safety of low-cost Chinese products have risen, and domestic platforms have launched aggressive promotional campaigns to win back customers. According to [...]
SEOUL, Jun. 29 (Korea Bizwire) – In a battle for dominance in the burgeoning cross-border e-commerce market, international platforms are intensifying their efforts to capture a slice of South Korea’s booming overseas sales sector, particularly in the realm of K-beauty products. Shopee, Southeast Asia’s largest e-commerce platform, announced plans to expand support for Korean products seeking [...]
SEOUL, Jun. 25 (Korea Bizwire) – In a surprising turn of events, South Korea has become the latest battleground for global e-commerce giants, with YouTube making an unprecedented move to launch its first shopping-dedicated store feature in the country. On June 23, industry sources revealed that YouTube, in collaboration with Cafe24, a KOSDAQ-listed e-commerce solutions company, [...]
SEOUL, Jun. 13 (Korea Bizwire) – In an unprecedented move, South Korea’s antitrust regulator, the Fair Trade Commission, has levied a record fine of 140 billion won against Coupang, the country’s largest e-commerce company, on allegations of unfairly favoring its own products over those of third-party sellers. The staggering penalty, the highest ever imposed [...]
SEOUL, Jun. 7 (Korea Bizwire) – Facing mounting losses due to the emergence of formidable “C-commerce” rivals like Alibaba’s AliExpress and Temu, South Korea’s major e-commerce players have embarked on aggressive cost-cutting measures. Industry experts predict that these efforts to bolster profitability, rather than pursue growth at any cost, will continue throughout the year as external [...]