Coupang, the Fair Trade Commission, and the Fair Trade Commission are in dispute over fines for "fabricating search rankings."

Coupang, which was fined 162.8 billion won for manipulating search ranking algorithms to increase sales of its own products, has engaged in a court battle with the Fair Trade Commission.

The Seoul High Court today (21st) held the first hearing date of Coupang's lawsuit against the FTC, asking them to "cancel the correction order and the payment of fines."

Coupang claimed that the corrective order violated the freedom of corporate activities, as it only made a "product recommendation" and did not use unfair competition measures.

In response, the FTC said that bookstores "display them according to sales volume," refuting that it cannot be allowed to display highly profitable books in reality.

In June and August, the FTC imposed a fine of 162.8 billion won and ordered correction to "not to engage in illegal activities such as manipulating algorithms in the future," saying Coupang gave preferential treatment to its own brand products by manipulating search ranking algorithms.

Later, the court accepted the request for suspension of execution on the 10th of last month for the corrective order, but rejected it, saying there was no need to suspend the effect of the penalty.