Coupang called coupon prices 'member prices' for 20 months — KFTC fined it ₩500M

From August 2020 to spring 2022, Coupang's product pages and coupon screens displayed prices with one-time discount coupons already applied as 'Wow member prices' or member-exclusive special prices. The 'Wow member price' and the 'Wow exclusive discount coupon' were shown as separate benefits — concealing that the member price was just the effect of a one-time coupon usable on a single product.

The Korea Fair Trade Commission ruled this deceptive advertising that concealed material facts about the discount's conditions and scope: shoppers were led to believe all products were available at special member rates, and that impression shaped decisions to pay for the Wow membership. During the period, Wow membership grew from 4.83 million to 9.37 million, and Coupang raised the monthly fee from ₩2,900 to ₩4,990.

On 9 June 2026 the KFTC imposed a corrective order and the statutory maximum fixed surcharge of ₩500 million — noting that related sales revenue could not be precisely calculated, that the deception ran for more than a year and a half, and that it aimed at winning the lowest-price race and locking members in. It was Korea's first sanction of price-discount advertising tied to a paid membership, and the KFTC said it would push to raise the cap to ₩5 billion or 2–10% of sales.