Gmarket, a joint venture subsidiary co-invested by Shinsegae Group and Alibaba, has set a target to expand the JV transaction volume to KRW 40 trillion within five years. The plan aims to increase market share in the e-commerce sector led by Coupang and Naver and to recover performance.

James Jang (Korean name Jang Seung-hwan), CEO of Gmarket, held a media day at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul on the 21st, stating, “We will make 2026 the first year of a new leap forward to revive as a leading innovative open market company,” and announced plans to pursue two mid-to-long-term strategies: strengthening domestic competitiveness and global expansion to reclaim the top position as a domestic open market.

Gmarket plans to invest KRW 700 billion annually for the rebound. KRW 500 billion will be allocated annually to support existing and new sellers, and KRW 100 billion each will be invested in customer promotions and AI technology utilization. Through this large-scale investment, the JV aims to more than double its current total transaction volume of KRW 20 trillion to KRW 40 trillion.

Gmarket, through the JV 'Grand Opus Holdings' co-invested by Shinsegae Group and Alibaba, plans to expand the overseas market entry of domestic sellers. Currently, products are being sold in five countries—Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam—through Alibaba's Southeast Asian platform Lazada. Starting next year, it plans to enter South Asia and Southern Europe, including Spain and Portugal, and by 2027, it aims to expand into North America, Latin America, and the Middle East. Over the next five years, it plans to gradually expand sales channels to over 200 countries where Alibaba is present. Gmarket expects to secure an annual transaction volume of over KRW 1 trillion and millions of customers in cross-border e-commerce (direct purchase of domestic products by foreign residents) within five years.

The Fair Trade Commission conditionally approved the establishment of the joint venture between Shinsegae and Alibaba last month, requiring Gmarket and AliExpress Korea to operate independently and separate domestic consumer data. Regarding concerns among some consumers about the potential overseas leakage of customer information, Kim Jung-woo, head of Gmarket's PX Division, stated, “Customer information is managed by Gmarket, and data required for AI learning is stored in an independent cloud,” assuring that “there is no need to worry about that.”

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