Coupang to proceed with $2B investment plan to hire 10,000 outside Seoul

Coupang will proceed with its 3 trillion won plan to expand operations outside of Seoul, which will see its workforce expand by some 10,000.

Coupang's fulfillment center in Daegu [COUPANG]

Coupang said on Tuesday that it will proceed with its 3 trillion won ($2.24 billion) investment plan and hire up to 10,000 new employees outside of Seoul, the first major expansion initiative following the Fair Trade Commission's imposition of a 162.8 billion won fine.

The e-commerce company will build and operate nine new distribution facilities and fulfillment centers through early 2026 in accordance with the investment road map announced in March.

A total of 3,300 new employees will be hired at two new fulfillment centers in Daejeon and Gwangju set to open next month. The New York-listed company will also start the construction of another fulfillment center in Gimcheon and a distribution center in Ulsan the same month, with a plan to bring on 500 and 400 new hires, respectively.

The construction of fulfillment centers in Busan and Icheon began during the second quarter, with the former set to create 3,000 jobs and Icheon, 1,500.

"The number of employees hired by Coupang and its distribution and retail subsidiaries [Coupang Fulfillment Service and Coupang Logistics Service] outside the Seoul region will increase to 65,000 […] bringing the Coupang workforce outside of Seoul to 81 percent,” the retail giant said in a press release Tuesday.

Coupang plans to offer Rocket Delivery, its signature next-day and same-day delivery service, in 230 cities and districts starting in 2027, including 60 regions classified by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety as "depopulation areas" home to a shrinking number of residents.

The company said customers living in "grocery shopping deserts" where it is difficult to purchase daily necessities and groceries will now be able to enjoy the delivery service.

Coupang previously released a statement in June that they will be "unable to continue offering the Rocket Delivery service" following the FTC's record-high fine for manipulating the platform's search algorithms, adding that it "has no choice but to stop the promised infrastructure investment."

BY CHO YONG-JUN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]