South Korea's Fair Trade Commission has approved the establishment of a joint venture between Shinsegae Group and China's Alibaba Group, a move that could potentially reshape the country's e-commerce landscape.
Regulatory approval with conditions
According to reports from Korean media outlets ET News and Yonhap News Agency, the South Korean FTC conditionally approved on September 18, 2025, the establishment of Grand Opus Holding, a joint venture between online retail giants Shinsegae and Alibaba. Both companies will implement a three-year confidentiality period regarding South Korean consumer data, after which an extension may be evaluated.
Strategic partnership structure
This move will bring Gmarket and AliExpress Korea under the umbrella of Grand Opus Holding. The investment will be an equal 50-50 split between the two parties: Shinsegae will contribute in-kind assets to hold 100% ownership of Gmarket, while Alibaba will hold 100% ownership of AliExpress Korea and inject approximately KRW300 billion in cash.
Market positioning and growth strategy
The collaboration is viewed as mutually beneficial within South Korea: Gmarket's competitiveness and corporate value have steadily declined since 2021, and this partnership is expected to rapidly enhance its corporate value. Reports indicate that Gmarket plans to leverage Alibaba's global distribution network to attract 600,000 sellers and relaunch its global expansion.
The formation of the joint venture also signals that leading e-commerce groups from South Korea and China are teaming up to respond to dramatic changes in the retail market. The move is expected to create synergies between Gmarket and AliExpress, which will help expand the two platforms' presence in the e-commerce market and accelerate Shinsegae's global expansion as well as Alibaba's entry into the South Korean market.
Data protection restrictions
The approval comes with restrictions on merging consumer data. The South Korean FTC has identified that the merger would most impact the online cross-border direct purchase market in South Korea, in which AliExpress and Gmarket currently rank first and fourth with market shares of 37.1% and 3.9% respectively. The joint venture will thus further solidify the two companies' dominant position with a combined 41% market share. The FTC therefore requires Gmarket, Auction, and AliExpress to operate independently, technically separating their consumer data and prohibiting the use of each other's data.
Challenging the duopoly
This joint venture is set to shake up the e-commerce market landscape. Coupang has established itself as the clear market leader with its "Rocket Delivery" service, while Naver has launched its independent "Naver Plus Store" in conjunction with Kurly and other players. Against this backdrop, the emergence of this joint venture is widely expected to challenge the duopoly held by Coupang and Naver.
Article translated by Kevin Wang and edited by Jerry Chen
