April 27, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Coupang, the largest social commerce firm in Korea, is enticing skilled software developers from the country's top firms, including Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, according to sources close to the matter.

Under a so-called “bring your buddy" referral program, Coupang handsomely rewards those who recommend developers.

Those who make a successful referral for an executive position can receive up to 5 million won (US$4,375), in the form of a coupon available on its online commerce website, and 3 million won for a developer position.

The recommender can also receive 100,000 won when a referred candidate has a job interview with Coupang, even if it does not lead to hiring.

Coupang CEO Kim Beom-seok

“The company has a job interview nearly every day with at least two candidates, including those through the referral program,” a Coupang insider told The Investor on condition of anonymity. 

Another source at a headhunting firm here noted that Coupang is also actively on the lookout for new human resources staff members (through such referral programs). 

The social commerce company's voracious appetite for talent appears to stem from its efforts to cushion the possible impact of the long-anticipated entry of US e-commerce giant Amazon and Alibaba of China in the Korean market.

At a press conference in November last year, CEO Kim Beom-seok pledged that the firm would “beef up its logistics infrastructure and human resources,” as did Amazon, the world’s largest e-commerce company whose accumulative investment in infrastructure and logistics services surpassed 19 trillion won.

As an additional strategy, Coupang also is hiring foreign executives. One high-profile example was Henry Low, a former executive of Amazon and Alibaba, who joined in 2014.

Due to the growing number of foreign employees, Coupang currently operates a group of some 30 in-house translators to help facilitate communication. 

Coupang’s revenue in 2015 more than tripled to 1.13 trillion won, compared to a year earlier, but it logged an operating loss of 547 billion won. 

Its net sales more than doubled to 868 billion won in the first half of this year on the back of retail expansion and improved margins, according to market data.

“The growth rate of Coupang's monthly sales from May to July reached nearly 80 percent, which is much higher than the maximum growth rate of 20 percent in the online commerce sector,” an industry source said.

Coupang is now poised to invest 1.5 trillion won to install 21 logistics centers across Korea and raise the accumulative number of its full-time and contract employees to 40,000 by 2017, including the number of deliverymen, also known as Coupang Men.


By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)