eBay Korea Sale Begins in Earnest... E-commerce Landscape Set for Major Shift (Comprehensive)

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] The US eBay headquarters has officially expressed its intention to sell eBay Korea, which operates Gmarket, Auction, G9, and others, signaling a reshuffle in the domestic e-commerce market.

According to Bloomberg on the 20th, eBay stated in a press release, "We have initiated a process to evaluate, review, and explore a wide range of strategic alternatives for our Korean business," adding, "We are considering options to maximize shareholder value and create future growth opportunities for the business." Bloomberg explained that eBay has a total of 183 million active users, with about 11% of its annual revenue coming from Korea.

Rumors about the sale of eBay Korea have been raised for several years, but this time the significance lies in eBay officially moving forward with the sale. The industry expects the sale process of eBay Korea to accelerate. eBay Korea is the largest open market operator in Korea, running Gmarket, Auction, G9, and others. In 2019, eBay Korea's transaction volume was estimated by the industry at 19 trillion KRW, accounting for 14% of the 135 trillion KRW online shopping transaction volume that year.In 2019, eBay Korea's sales exceeded 1 trillion KRW for the first time, reaching 1.0954 trillion KRW. Operating profit increased by 27% compared to the previous year to 61.5 billion KRW, making it the only domestic online shopping mall company to post profits for 15 consecutive years.

The sale of eBay Korea is expected to significantly shake up the domestic online shopping mall market. Recently, the domestic e-commerce market has seen overheated competition as major domestic distribution conglomerates have entered the market one after another. Although eBay Korea's operating profit margin approached 20% in 2010, it sharply declined to 5.7% in 2019. In this intensified competitive environment, the buyer of eBay Korea will gain a scale advantage capable of moving the market.

However, there are also views that the sale will not be easy due to the high asking price and challenging market conditions. According to the industry, eBay has set the sale price at over 5 trillion KRW and is exploring purchase intentions with domestic and foreign companies as well as private equity funds (PEFs).