Summary
Born on October 7, 1978, in Seoul, Kim Bom-suk is a Korean-American who moved to the United States during middle school, following his father, who was an expatriate for Hyundai Engineering & Construction. Now a U.S. citizen, he graduated from Harvard University with a degree in Political Science and later earned an MBA from Harvard Business School. He began his career at the Boston Consulting Group.
During his time at Harvard in 1998, Kim founded a magazine called Current, which he sold to Newsweek in 2001. In 2004, he established a company called Vintage Media Company to publish a monthly magazine targeting elite university graduates, which he sold in 2009. Drawing on these experiences, he returned to South Korea in August 2010 to found Coupang.
Kim started Coupang as a social commerce business and expanded it by integrating a direct-purchase delivery system. With the goal of delivering more products at lower prices, he reinvested earnings into building logistics centers. This strategy led to the success of Rocket Delivery, propelling annual sales close to 10 trillion won, although operating profits remained in the red for some time. Undeterred, Kim continued to aggressively expand logistics centers and proved his strategy right by taking Coupang public on the New York Stock Exchange.
From the outset, Kim frequently mentioned Amazon as a model for his business. He also took inspiration from other startups, notably Groupon, the original social commerce company in the U.S. Emulating Groupon’s growth, Coupang reached 1 million members in January 2011, just five months after launching. It grew to 5 million by May 2011, 10 million by January 2012, and 15 million by October 2012. That year, Coupang led the industry with an annual transaction volume of 800 billion won.
Following the success of Rocket Delivery, Coupang transitioned into an e-commerce company in 2014, expanding into fulfillment, payment, and OTT services. In 2019, Kim was honored by Fast Company as one of the “100 Most Creative People in Business,” likening him to Jeff Bezos of South Korea.
Facing challenges of profitability, business expansion, and international market entry, Kim aims to continue securing funds through overseas investments. He has stated that the primary goal of Coupang’s NYSE listing was to raise substantial investment capital. At the time of its listing, Coupang’s market capitalization reached 100 trillion won, making it the third-largest domestic company after Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.
Timeline
▲ October 7, 1978 = Born in Seoul, South Korea.
▲ Mid-1980s = Moved to the United States with his father, an expatriate for Hyundai Engineering & Construction.
▲ 1998 = Found the magazine Current while a student at Harvard
▲ 2001 = Sold Current to Newsweek.
▲ 2004 = Established the company Vintage Media Company to publish a monthly magazine targeting elite university graduates.
▲ 2009 = Sold Vintage Media Company.
▲ August 2010 = Returned to South Korea and found Coupang as a social commerce business.
▲ January 2012 = Coupang membership grows to 15 million.
▲ October 2012 = Coupang reached an annual transaction volume of 800 billion won, leading the industry.
▲ 2014 = Coupang launched Rocket Delivery, leading to significant growth and the transition into an e-commerce company.
▲ 2019 = Named one of the “100 Most Creative People in Business” by Fast Company, likened to Jeff Bezos of South Korea.
▲ December 2020 = Stepped down from all official positions at Coupang’s South Korean subsidiary amid controversy over worker conditions.
▲ March 2021 = Coupang went public on the New York Stock Exchange. At the time of its listing, Coupang’s market capitalization reached 100 trillion won, making it the third-largest domestic company after Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.
