Coupang added over 8,000 jobs last year, surpassing Lotte and Shinsegae

Coupang Inc created more than 8,000 new jobs last year, pushing its total workforce past the 100,000 mark.

Coupang's total headcount stood at 108,131 at the end of last year, up 8,250 from a year earlier, according to a report released Monday by Korea CXO Research Institute, a corporate analysis firm, covering employment changes at 102 conglomerates between 2024 and 2025.

Coupang was the only company among the five conglomerates with more than 100,000 employees to record a headcount increase. The 100,000-employee club was led by Samsung with 283,830 workers, followed by Hyundai Motor with 201,540, LG Corp with 144,089, Coupang with 108,131 and SK Corp with 104,602. Lotte came next with 81,533, followed by Hanwha with 71,711, Shinsegae with 67,083, CJ Corp with 62,303 and KT Corp with 55,745.

Much of Coupang's headcount growth came from Coupang Fulfillment Services, the company's logistics center operator. The unit added 5,517 jobs, growing from 78,159 employees in 2024 to 83,676 last year — the largest increase among affiliates with more than 10,000 employees across the 102 conglomerates surveyed.

Coupang has been building nine or more logistics centers in regional areas at a cost of 3 trillion won (about $1.95 billion) from 2024 through this year. The centers have been concentrated outside the Greater Seoul area, including facilities in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province (opened November 2024, 400 workers), Jangseong, South Jeolla Province (January 2025, 450 workers) and Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province (February 2025, 1,450 workers).

Demand for Coupang's Rocket Delivery and dawn delivery services has spread beyond the Greater Seoul area to the rest of the country, driving hiring of logistics center workers and delivery drivers nationwide. The number of contracted delivery drivers — known as "Flex" couriers — indirectly employed by Coupang is estimated at around 20,000.