Coupang breaks ground for $40M logistics center in Ulsan

Coupang continues to invest outside the greater Seoul area with the start of a new logistics facility in Ulsan.

A render of Coupang's regional distribution center in Ulsan [COUPANG]

Coupang will invest 55 billion won ($40 million) in a new logistics center in Ulsan with the aim of starting operations by the first half of 2026.

The New York-listed e-commerce company said on Tuesday that it has broken ground on the 17,520-square-meter (188,590-square-foot) center and will hire 400 new employees.

It is Coupang's first logistics center in the southern city, and will cover the neighboring cities of Busan and Pohang.

The Coupang Ulsan sub-hub will connect the company’s larger warehouses to smaller delivery centers. It will also function as a storage location, the company told the Korea JoongAng Daily. The center will be operated by logistics subsidiary Coupang Logistics Service (CLS).

Coupang held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Ulsan distribution center on Tuesday with 100 guests including the governor of Ulju County.

The center will play an important role in expanding Coupang’s Rocket Delivery service in the region, while helping the local economy through job creation, according to Coupang.

“Small- and medium-sized businesses in the [Gyeongsang] region will save on distribution costs and expand their sales to the country once the sub-hub is completed,” CLS CEO Hong Yong-jun said.

Coupang previously announced a plan to invest a total of 3 trillion won to create nine logistics centers outside of the greater Seoul area including in Daejeon, Gwangju and cities in North Gyeongsang by 2026. The company completed the construction of its Gwangju logistics center on Monday.

“I hope the Ulsan Sub-hub will act as an important distribution network in the [Gyeongsang] region,” People Power Party Rep. Suh Bum-soo said in a congratulatory video played during the groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday.

Coupang Logistics Service (CLS) CEO Hong Yong-jun and Ulju Governor Lee Soon-geol pose for the camera during a groundbreaking ceremony for Coupang's logistics center in Ulsan. [COUPANG]

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