South Korea's Fair Trade Commission (FTC) imposed fines totaling 550.15 billion won in 2024, up 26% from 434.98 billion won in 2023, Yonhap News reported Wednesday.
Coupang and its subsidiary Coupang Private Label Brands received the highest penalty of 140.1 billion won for manipulating search algorithms and posting fake product reviews to boost private-label sales, the report said.
Kakao (KRX:035720) subsidiary Kakao Mobility was fined 72.4 billion won for directing ride requests to its franchise taxis using algorithm manipulation. CJ Freshway (KOSDAQ:051500) was also fined 24.5 billion won for unfairly supporting an affiliate to solidify its market position, it said.
Shares of Kakao fell nearly 1% while those of CJ Freshway rose nearly 2% in recent trade on Thursday.
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