Shinsegae chief takes Alibaba JV board to jumpstart online revival

Shinsegae Group Chair Chung Yong-jin speaks at the group’s ceremonial event held in February. (Shinsegae Group)

Shinsegae Group announced Tuesday that Chair Chung Yong-jin has been named to lead the board of Grand Opus Holdings, a joint venture between Shinsegae’s Gmarket and Alibaba Group’s AliExpress Korea, in a bid to boost synergy in both domestic and global e-commerce markets.

The 50-50 joint venture between the two groups’ e-commerce units officially launched in September, subject to Fair Trade Commission conditions such as limits on consumer data sharing in the online cross-border market.

“Chung’s appointment as chairman underscores his strong will to revive Gmarket through collaboration with Alibaba,” Shinsegae said in a statement. “He is expected to help lay the groundwork for the joint venture to become a major force in domestic and global e-commerce.”

Industry observers say Chung’s return to a registered executive role signals the vital importance of strong leadership and agile decision-making in today’s competitive e-commerce landscape. He last held such a position in 2013, before he stepped down from the boards of both Shinsegae and E-Mart.

The appointment comes at a critical juncture, as Gmarket pushes ahead with its transformation into an artificial intelligence-powered marketplace, backed by Alibaba’s global network, big data capabilities and generative AI infrastructure.

In October, Gmarket CEO James Chang announced a 700 billion-won ($477 million) investment plan aimed at more than doubling Gmarket’s total transaction volume. The company has set a goal of surpassing 1 trillion won in annual cross-border sales within five years.

As a first move, Gmarket has made products from Korean sellers available on Lazada, Alibaba’s Southeast Asian e-commerce platform.

Gmarket’s recent performance demonstrates ongoing challenges.

Revenue has declined steadily from 1.32 trillion won in 2022 to 1.19 trillion won in 2023, and further to 961.2 billion won in 2024. In the third quarter of this year, revenue dropped 17.1 percent on-year to 187.1 billion won, while operating losses widened to 24.4 billion won.

Shinsegae said the joint venture’s board includes key executives from both companies, such as Gmarket CEO James Chang and AliExpress Korea CEO Ray Zhang, who will serve as co-CEOs. James Dong, president of Alibaba International Digital Commerce, who leads Alibaba Group’s global e-commerce operations, will also serve on the board.

The board will operate under a framework requiring unanimous consent on key decisions. “It’s a deliberate win-win strategy to ensure that neither side dominates the agenda,” Shinsegae said.