U.S. Ambassador to Korea Philip Goldberg, center, and Coupang CEO Kang Han-seung, second from right, pose for a picture at the firm's fulfillment center in Daegu, Wednesday. Courtesy of Coupang

By Kim Jae-heun

Coupang has invested 6.2 trillion won ($4.69 billion) over the past 12 years in establishing a nationwide logistics network, the country's largest e-commerce firm said Wednesday.

The company invited U.S. Ambassador to Korea Philip Goldberg, Daegu Metropolitan City Deputy Mayor Hong Ui-rak and officials from the Ministry of Science and ICT to its new fulfilment center in Daegu, Wednesday, where it gave a briefing on its contributions to the local community.

Coupang's invitational program focused on the company's win-win model that supports the sustainable growth of customers, workers and small business owners under the theme of "Creating WOW: Coupang's Innovation and Investment Journey in 2022."

The company attracted nearly half of the $2.47 billion in U.S. foreign direct investments that flowed into Korea last year. Through the establishment of its independent "end-to-end" fulfilment system and Rocket Delivery network, Coupang provides quality customer services in terms of delivery speed and product price and selection.

"The Korea-U.S. alliance has rapidly established itself as a global technology and economic partnership, and Coupang is representative evidence of this evolution. Coupang's direct investment resulted in job creation and continuous innovation ― making the daily lives of Koreans more convenient," Goldberg said.

Coupang's fulfillment center in Daegu Metropolitan City / Courtesy of Coupang

Its Daegu fulfillment center, which was opened in March this year, is equipped with state-of-the-art logistics equipment. It represents Coupang's strong will to contribute to the development of logistics in Korea.

The e-commerce firm invested more than 300 billion won to build the fulfillment center, one of the largest of its kind in Asia. The company has spent a lot of money on a large number of innovative facilities that incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) and logistics robots in a venue that is the size of 46 football fields combined.

Through the opening of the Daegu facility, Coupang has opened a new sales channel for small- and medium-sized business owners in the city ― giving new vitality to local commercial districts. The company expects to create jobs for 2,500 workers directly and result in an extra 10,000 jobs indirectly.