Coupang halts import food sales over safety concerns
The move is seen as a preemptive measure following cases where foods bought online from overseas vendors were found to violate domestic regulations.
Coupang recently sent individual notifications to some overseas sellers, informing them of a temporary halt on new registrations and inbound shipments of specific food items imported for sale via Rocket Growth.
Rocket Growth is a fulfillment service in which sellers send their products to Coupang's logistics centers, and Coupang handles storage, delivery and returns. The service is popular among international sellers looking to easily enter the Korean market and has a high number of China-based sellers participating. Coupang did not disclose how many sellers received the notice or how many food products were affected.
This decision appears to follow recent actions by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, which imposed fines on certain importers and retailers for violating food safety regulations.
'Our top priority is ensuring that customers are protected and can purchase safe products," a Coupang official said. "We maintain a system that constantly monitors and responds to potential risks, and the recent measure reflects that approach."
Coupang also plans to expand safety and compliance checks to all imported goods, with the possibility of extending restrictions to other categories based on the results.
The food safety agency recently fined major domestic retailers for selling imported meat products that violated food additive standards. The Korea Customs Service also blocked over 160,000 potentially hazardous imported food items from entering the country.
In response, Coupang issued guidance to Rocket Growth and Marketplace sellers last month, providing safety information on restricted ingredients, blocked overseas food products and key precautions for listing imported food items.
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