The country’s antitrust regulator will decide as early as next month whether to punish Coupang for its alleged mobilization of employees to write false reviews on its private-label products to attract customers.

Appearing on a KBS program on Sunday, Fair Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Han Ki-jeong said that the FTC will hold a plenary session soon to discuss the e-commerce giant's alleged act of preferential treatment for its private label products.

The FTC chief said that the company is accused of mobilizing its employees to write product reviews on its private brand products and thus pulling up the exposure rankings of those products, stressing the importance of restricting illegal practices by these platforms.

In March 2022, civic groups raised the issue and reported it to the FTC, saying that Coupang mobilized employees to write false reviews for its private-label products.

The FTC will reportedly hold a plenary session in mid-May and decide on a possible punishment for Coupang.

Regarding Coupang's recent decision to raise the price of its monthly membership fee by 58 percent to seven-thousand-890 won, the FTC chief said that although it is hard to intervene in the price hike directly, the government will continue to improve the system to promote competition and take necessary legal action against unfair trade practices.