Coupang's '19% Annual Interest' Loan Business Under Review... Lee Eogwon: "Assessing Appropriateness"

The financial authorities have announced that they are reviewing whether the interest rates and repayment methods of Coupang's loan products for partner sellers are appropriate.

On the 30th, Lee Eogwon, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, stated at a National Assembly hearing titled "Hearing to Identify the Actual Conditions of Coupang's Security Breach, Personal Information Leakage, Unfair Trade, and Working Environment, and to Prepare Measures to Prevent Recurrence," that "The Financial Supervisory Service is currently conducting an on-site inspection of Coupang Financial, examining whether the loan interest rates are appropriate, whether the repayment methods are appropriate, and whether the loan advertisements are appropriate. Everything is being thoroughly reviewed."

He added, "In consultation with the Ministry of Science and ICT, we have decided that, starting from the 26th, the Financial Supervisory Service will also participate in the joint public-private investigation team for Coupang, so that not only Coupang Pay but also Coupang headquarters can be examined."

The "Coupang Seller Growth Loan," which provides business funds to partner sellers, is a loan product offered by Coupang Financial, with interest rates ranging from 8.9% to 18.9% per annum.

Kim Hyunjung, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party, questioned whether there is a possibility of illegal sales practices such as "tying," in which Coupang may require partner sellers to use its own high-interest loan products as a condition for increasing supply quantities. She called for a comprehensive investigation into the overall situation. She also pointed out that, since Coupang Pay is automatically registered when signing up for Coupang under the "One ID" policy, both Coupang Pay and Coupang headquarters should be thoroughly examined.

Regarding the criticism that Coupang Pay is not properly managing user information, including the number of account cancellations, Chairman Lee stated, "There is an obligation to retain electronic financial transaction records for five years," and added, "We will closely examine whether there are any violations of the retention obligation during the on-site inspection."