Shinsegae, Alibaba target W1tr in cross-border sales

From left: Park Jong-hoon, head of strategic planning at Shinsegae’s E-mart division, Korea’s Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan, and James Dong, president of Alibaba International Digital Commerce, pose for a photo during a signing ceremony in Beijing on Monday. (Shinsegae)

Shinsegae Group and Alibaba International solidified their partnership on Monday by agreeing to expand cross-border e-commerce through renewed cooperation designed to take Korean sellers to overseas markets.

The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding in Beijing on the sidelines of a Korea-China business forum co-hosted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.

The agreement builds on groundwork laid last year, after Shinsegae and Alibaba secured regulatory approval in September for a joint venture involving their e-commerce arms, Gmarket and AliExpress. The board was formed in November, followed by its inaugural meeting soon afterward.

The partnership links leading retail groups from each country to expand online marketplaces as export channels for Korean brands, Shinsegae explained.

“Our collaboration with Alibaba International will allow Gmarket to move beyond the domestic market and compete on a global scale,” Park Jong-hoon, head of strategic planning at Shinsegae’s E-mart division, said.

James Dong, president of Alibaba International Digital Commerce, who leads Alibaba Group’s global e-commerce operations, also viewed the partnership as creating new opportunities for Korean sellers, especially small and midsize businesses.

“By combining Shinsegae’s curated products with Alibaba’s global platforms and artificial intelligence tools, even small-scale sellers can reach customers worldwide, including across Asia and Europe," he said.

Since late 2025, the two companies have centered their cooperation on Southeast Asia, where Korean merchants have been selling through Lazada, Alibaba’s Southeast Asian e-commerce arm. As of December, about 7,000 Gmarket sellers had listed roughly 1.2 million products on Lazada.

From this year, the partners aim to expand into South Asia and southern Europe via Alibaba’s platforms, targeting more than 1 trillion won ($690 million) in annual cross-border sales within five years.