[알려줘! 경제] ‘100 trillion company’ Coupang “Aggressive investment in the Korean market”

Coupang, who entered the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), ended the trade on the first day at $49.25, up 40% from the offering price ($35). The market capitalization is 88.6 billion dollars, and our money surpassed 100 trillion won.

With a market capitalization of KRW 100 trillion, there is still no company in Korea that has been recognized for such corporate value other than Samsung Electronics and Hynix. It’s not an IT company for the world stage, but it’s surprising.

It is incomparable to the traditional distribution companies E-Mart (5 trillion won) and Shinsegae (3 trillion won), which are well known by domestic consumers. The stock price is not determined by today, but we need to see the trend in the future, but there is a high possibility of making a big difference from LG Chem, Naver, and Hyundai Motors, which are evaluated at around 50-60 trillion won.

Koreans are well aware that Coupang is the leading company of online distribution (E-Commerce), which has been deeply digging into everyday life since Corona 19, but no one would have expected that other countries would be treated as much by the US market. I can’t help but wonder why.

New York market’s 100 trillion won valuation… The reason is?

On the first day of Coupang’s debut in the New York market, the corporate value is comparable to that of its global competitors. Shall we look at one of the comparison criteria, the price sales ratio compared to sales? Coupang’s share price is 5.4 times its sales, which is higher than Amazon (3.4 times), the strongest in the US market, and similar to Alibaba (5.4 times), the strongest in the Chinese market.

China, which is the background of Alibaba, is incomparable in size to the Korean market that Coupang promotes. Nevertheless, the reason for receiving similar treatment to Alibaba is because of the judgment that the Korean market has greater growth potential.

Korea’s online distribution market is the 5th largest in the world. Online distribution (E-Commerce) accounts for about 33% of the total consumption market (estimated at 530 trillion won), but predictions that it will increase to half in the next five years are dominant. This is because the infrastructure, including the response to the service and delivery, is good.

Another reason why the Korean market is attractive is that it is difficult for global players such as Amazon and Alibaba to enter. According to Coupang, “out of the top 10 e-commerce markets in the world, Korea is the only market that Amazon and Alibaba have not dominated.”

“Shall Coupang dominate online distribution?”

Even with a good market environment, not all companies will succeed. The reaction on the first day of the New York Stock Market is said to have occupied (?) Coupang as a business operator to dominate the Korean online market.

“In online distribution,’traffic’ is an asset, but Coupang binds consumers through various services including OTT. New York investors predicted that Coupang would monopolize the growth of the fast-growing online distribution market in Korea” ( There are many analysts who think that they are Park Jong-dae, an analyst at Hana Financial Investment.

Bum-seok Kim, Chairman of Coupang’s Board of Directors, who held a ceremony to commemorate the listing on the New York Mayor, also made a statement in response to these expectations. Using the funds raised with the listing (approximately 5 trillion won), “I will invest in building logistics infrastructure and increase jobs as I have been”. Although it was listed, it means that it will make more investments to increase market share without paying attention to reducing the immediate deficit.

Coupang Leads Online Distribution, What’s the Way Forward?

It gave a very clear direction for Coupang’s next move. The acquisition of a delivery company that some people have raised is an atmosphere that does not pay attention to, and it has drawn a line in relation to overseas expansion. Although there was a clue that for the time being, Chairman Kim said, “In the long term, I have a desire to enter overseas markets and export K-commerce, but for the time being, I will devote myself to the domestic market.” (Coupang acquired a video service company in the Southeast Asian market last year.)

A company that sees only the deficit, a company that has been betting on “when will it fail” has made a brilliant debut in the capital market as it seems. However, the road ahead doesn’t seem as smooth as the road we’ve walked so far. This is because it seems difficult to meet the expectations of investors in the United States expressed in the corporate value of 100 trillion won. This is because the atmosphere in which the existing distribution companies are preparing to counterattack by cooperating with each other is not unusual due to the gust of Coupang.

Another thing is that we must overcome the issues related to labor. As courier workers died one after another, the problem of’overworked death’ arose, and the debate over how to treat platform workers is not a problem only in Korea.

Coupang’s (but not all) hiring of a driver in charge of the delivery service raises the expectation that Coupang will solve this problem in a way that is distinct from other distributors.

“The stock market is a popular voting machine in the short run and a weighing machine in the long run.” This is what Chairman Kim Bum-seok said right after the listing ceremony. Like the words, I look forward to becoming a heavy company that delivers social responsibility and management performance together.