Coupang at work on $69 million North Chungcheong logistics center

Coupang is building a $68.8 million logistics center in Jecheon to enhance its Rocket Delivery service.

A render of Coupang's upcoming logistics center in Jecheon, North Chungcheong [COUPANG]

Coupang is at work on a new 100 billion won ($68.8 million) logistics center as its next step toward expanding its Rocket Delivery service nationwide.

The project is a part of Coupang’s move to invest over 3 trillion won until 2026 to compete with rising Chinese e-commerce platforms and Korean platforms, such as Naver.

The New York-listed company broke ground on the 52,892 square-meter (569,330 square-foot) center in Jecheon, North Chungcheong, on Wednesday.

“With Coupang’s logistics system and infrastructure that utilizes AI, we will be creating local jobs and continue to support the growth of local small businesses,” Coupang Representative Director Park Dae-jun said at the groundbreaking ceremony. People Power Party Rep. Eom Tae-young, Jecheon Mayor Kim Chang-gyu, North Chungcheong Vice Mayor for Administrative Affairs Lee Dong-ok and 200 other guests also attended.

The new facility will handle distribution in North and South Chungcheong and Gangwon. The company has described it as an “AI-powered state-of-the-art automation facility” and create up to 500 jobs. Construction is set to be complete by June 2026 and production to begin at the start of 2027.

Coupang began the construction of logistics centers in Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang; Busan; and Icheon, Gyeonggi in 2024. It signed a memorandum of understanding with Jecheon in 2020.

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