Korea E-commerce: Robust e-commerce growth continued in June supported by fuel subsidies and the wealth effect

Research evidence excerpt

Korea E-commerce: Robust e-commerce growth continued in June supported by fuel subsidies and the wealth effect

J P M O R G A N Asia Pacific Equity Research

01 July 2026

Korea E-commerce

Robust e-commerce growth continued in June

supported by fuel subsidies and the wealth effect

According to KOSIS, May total/core (ex-services) e-commerce market GMV growth Internet and Telco

ACremained robust at 10%/13% y/y (vs 9%/12% in April), which we attribute to Stanley Yang

favorable domestic consumption backdrop supported by the government’s (82-2) 758-5712

distribution of second round of fuel subsidy and wealth effect, while Middle East- stanley.yang@jpmorgan.com

related macro risks remain concentrated in subdued travel/ticket demand (-1%). Benjamin Kim

Quarter-to-date, total/core e-commerce GMV growth is tracking at 10%/12%, a (82-2) 758-5580

modest improvement from 9%/10% in 1Q, though the acceleration appears somewhat benjamin.kim@jpmorgan.com

J.P. Morgan Securities (Far East) Limited, Seoul

less pronounced compared to other retail channels that we believe captured a more Branch

direct uplift from wealth effect/consumption subsidy (e.g., department store’s 18%

QTD vs. 12% in 1Q, CVS’s 4% QTD vs. 2% in 1Q). At the company level, Wiseapp

data show Coupang’s user base has stabilized at ~2% above pre–data breach levels,

with aggregated daily GMV data suggesting June growth (9%) stayed largely on par

with May (11%).

• Robust E-commerce market growth continued in May. As per KOSIS, the

domestic e-commerce market maintained solid growth in May, with total/core

(ex-services) GMV up 10.3%/12.7% y/y (vs. 9.2%/12.3% in April), broadly in

line with solid retail GMV growth of 5.6%/6.1% y/y (vs. 4.7%/4.2% in April).

We believe the overall consumption backdrop remains supportive, driven by