Retail Landscape of South Korea
2,449 Retail companies in South Korea, in one picture: who is hiring, who is raising money, who founded them, where they are based and what the news is about. Updated August 2026.
Who leads Retail in South Korea
Shows 2,449 retail firms in South Korea, highlighting which are hiring, which have recent funding rounds, and the top‑funded companies such as Coupang, Tmon and Musinsa.
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Haruharu3last posted Jun 2026
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StyleKorean3last posted Jun 2026
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Alwayz3last posted Jul 2026
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Connectly2last posted Dec 2025
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Serveone2last posted Aug 2026
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Daebak2last posted Nov 2025
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Bucket Place2last posted May 2026
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Dongle1last posted Jul 2026
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Coupang$4.2BSeries F · Dec 2019
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Tmon$523.5MSeries D · Sep 2020
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Musinsa$473.7MSeries C · Jul 2023
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KREAM$447.8MSeries C · Dec 2023
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Trenbe$270.1MSeries D · Aug 2022
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Karrot$201.4MSeries D · Aug 2021
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Korea Credit Data$136.5MSeries D · Aug 2023
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GS Retail$8.6BFY2023 filing
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LG Household & Health Care$2.7BFY2022 filing
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Shinsegae$1.8BFY2021 filing
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CLO Virtual Fashion$36.5Msnapshot Dec 2023
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Homeplus Co.23,000tracked employees
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shinsegae international1,337tracked employees
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Grand Department Store180tracked employees
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Waters8.7%38 tracked events
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OLIVE YOUNG5.5%24 tracked events
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OliveYoung4.3%19 tracked events
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Lotte Duty Free4.1%18 tracked events
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Lotte Shopping4.1%18 tracked events
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Lotte Mart56articles in the window
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Lotte Department Store52articles in the window
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Emart38articles in the window
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E-mart34articles in the window
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See all 2,449 Retail companies in South Korea
Filter by funding, headcount, hiring and location, and export the list.
How the Retail ecosystem in South Korea grew, 2016–2025
Displays the yearly count of new retail firms from 2016 to 2025, with the highest number—218—recorded in 2020 and only six founded in 2025.
Where Retail companies in South Korea are based
Lists the cities where retail companies are located, with Seoul hosting the largest share at 1,232 firms followed by Seongnam‑Si, Incheon, Daegu and Busan.
The Retail market map of South Korea: what these companies actually do
Breaks down the product sub‑categories built by retail firms, noting the largest groups like consumer digital (1,412) and B2C e‑commerce (1,368), and the most common revenue models such as product sales (1,805).
The biggest kinds of Retail company, by how many we track.
- Consumer Digital1,412 companies · $7.3B raised · 16 hiring
- B2C E-Commerce1,368 companies · $7.3B raised · 16 hiring
- B2C Fashion E-Commerce536 companies · $1.8B raised · 6 hiring
- Internet First Brands476 companies · $208.3M raised · 1 hiring
- Beauty E-Commerce388 companies · $83.8M raised · 4 hiring
- K-Beauty244 companies · $106M raised · 5 hiring
- Internet First Fashion Brands240 companies · $183M raised
- Enterprise Tech212 companies · $1.1B raised · 2 hiring
- Digital Skin Care190 companies · $64.9M raised · 3 hiring
- Internet First Beauty Brands125 companies · $5.7M raised
- Internet First Apparel Brands115 companies · $141.2M raised
- Women Apparel E-Commerce113 companies · $144.6M raised
Monetization
How Retail companies make money
How many companies earn revenue each way. Plenty use more than one model, so the counts add up to more than the sector.
Funding, M&A and the deals moving Retail in South Korea
Counts 319 corporate events over the past two years, including earnings releases, announcements, lawsuits, mergers and regulatory filings.
- M&AZigZag, the global post-purchase and returns network, has completed the acquisition of leading post-purchase platform Shipup.2026-04-21
- M&ABecton Dickinson’s sale of its LifeSciences Bioprocessing segment to Waters Corp (WAT), closing February 9, 2026, creates a pure-play MedTech company that still participates in Medical Essential, Connected Care, Biopharma Systems, and Interventional, the analyst tells investors in a research note.2026-02-03
- M&AThe AUD $7.7 million acquisition adds state‑of‑the‑art fabrication facilities to CiTech's operations.2026-01-22
- FundingRXC (알엑스씨), founded by Yoo Han-ik, a founding member of Coupang and former TMON board chair, secured KRW 7 billion (USD 5.3 million) in Series A funding.2026-01-12
- FundingA Korean startup has raised $854,000 from 8,200 backers across 60 countries for a ring-shaped controller that replaces touchscreens with mid-air gestures.2025-12-29
- M&AAI company Harex InfoTech and an anonymous bidder have expressed their interest by submitting their respective letters of intent (LOIs) before the cut-off date of October 31.2025-11-04
- M&AWe are exceptionally proud to announce the acquisition of SSG," said Wahl Bartmann, Group CEO of Fidelity.2025-10-27
- Funding🇫🇷 Aircap raises €500,000 to lead risk and cash flow management for private assets2025-07-25
- M&Athe heavily indebted e-commerce platform’s Oasis, a fresh grocery delivery company, announced Monday that it is acquiring TMON for 11.6 billion won ($8.3 million)2025-06-23
- IPOSouth Korean e-commerce company Coupang (NYSE: CPNG) launched its U.S. IPO in March 2021.2025-04-19
Mergers and acquisitions
Deals from the last 24 months where a Retail company in South Korea was the buyer or the one bought, newest first. “Undisclosed” means the price was never published — not that the deal was worth nothing.
| Acquirer | Target | Deal value | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| undisclosed | Completed | 2026-04-21 | ||
| undisclosed | Pending | 2026-02-09 | ||
| Na | undisclosed | Announced | 2026-01-22 | |
| BD\'s biosciences and diagnostics businesses | undisclosed | — | 2026-01-09 | |
| BD | undisclosed | — | 2026-01-09 | |
| Harex InfoTech | $2B | Announced | 2025-11-04 |
Who is listing, hiring leaders, launching and winning work
Provides details on specific corporate events such as leadership changes and new customer contracts.
TirTirV · Appointment → Global Brand AmbassadorNov 2025
Hyundai Livartwon iraqFeb 2026
Sky Labswon otsuka pharmaceuticalFeb 2026
- An investor v coupangFederal Securities Laws violation · FiledFeb 2026
- U.S. House Judiciary Committee v coupangRegulatory investigation into discrimination against U.S. companiesFeb 2026
Half of these companies grew revenue faster than +12.6%, half slower.
Who is building Retail in South Korea
Profiles 562 founders and CEOs across 510 companies, showing their typical educational backgrounds, with Seoul National University appearing most often (5 alumni).
Ex-Daum Kakao, NHN, samsung. Seoul National University BEc 2003
Co-Founder Opensurvey, ex- Gom&Company, WISEfn. Yonsei University
Ex-Watcha · Yonsei University BA 2012
Ex-Malang Studio. Hongik University 2015
Ex-Samsung Electronics, LIG Nex1. Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology ME
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Phd in CS, 2007
Rapport Labs, ex-Viva Republica, ex-Hyperconnect, Seoul National University
ex-United Nations. Yonsei University 2015
Founder & CEO Mineice, ex-Co-Founder EarlierCare, Freenters. University of Chicago BA 2014
Look up the people behind Retail companies in South Korea
Search founders, executives and operators by company, role and location.
Who funds Retail in South Korea
Summarizes 260 funding rounds since 2016 from 325 investors, noting an average round size of $5.6 million.
| Investor · most active investors since 2016 | Rounds | Led | Latest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Altos Ventures Management | 19 | 12 | Sep 2025 |
| SparkLabs | 16 | 15 | Feb 2025 |
| Korea Investment Holdings | 13 | 8 | Jul 2024 |
| Kakao Ventures | 13 | 8 | Mar 2026 |
| SBVA | 13 | 5 | Sep 2025 |
| IMM Investment | 12 | 3 | Dec 2024 |
| Atinum Investment | 9 | 5 | Dec 2024 |
| Korean Development Bank | 9 | 5 | Jul 2025 |
| KB Investment | 8 | 6 | Nov 2023 |
| NAVER D2 Startup Factory | 8 | 4 | Dec 2022 |
The typical round is $5.6M — half were bigger, half smaller.
The biggest Retail funding rounds in South Korea
Highlights the biggest disclosed funding deals, including Coupang’s $2 billion Series F round, and lists ten large recent rounds.
| Company | Round | Size | When | Backers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series Fmega-round | $2B | Nov 2018 | SoftBank Vision Fund | |
| Series Emega-round | $1B | Jun 2015 | SoftBank Group | |
| Series Emega-round | $400M | Apr 2018 | BlackRock, Fidelity Investments | |
| Series Dmega-round | $336.5M | Sep 2020 | — | |
| Series Dmega-round | $300M | Dec 2014 | BlackRock, Rose Park Advisors, Wellington +1 more | |
| Series Dmega-round | $259.3M | Aug 2022 | IMM Investment, Atinum Investment, LB Investment +4 more | |
| Series C | $190M | Jul 2023 | KKR, Wellington | |
| Series D | $182M | May 2022 | Vertex Growth, BRV Capital Management, Korean Development Bank +3 more | |
| Series A | $168.7M | Nov 2019 | Peak XV Partners | |
| Series C | $168M | Mar 2023 | Altos Ventures Management, Mirae Asset, Samsung +4 more |
43 venture rounds with a disclosed amount in the window.
Series A$6.3MApr 2026
Series B$6.7MMar 2026
Series A$6.5MMar 2026
SeedundisclosedMar 2026
SeedundisclosedMar 2026
SeedundisclosedMar 2026
Seed$830kFeb 2026
What the news says about Retail in South Korea
Counts 256,537 news articles about the sector in the last year, emphasizing coverage of international entities, geopolitical disputes and trade‑related topics.
What the coverage is about
The subjects that dominate Retail news in South Korea. The arrow shows whether each one is being written about more or less than a year ago.
- International and transnational geographic entities300,239▲+33%
- Geopolitical disputes and contested areas300,235▲+33%
- Administrative and political subdivisions300,218▲+33%
- International political relations23,780→-1%
- Security and defense policies18,301→-10%
- International relations and diplomacy16,228▼-15%
- Trade policies and agreements12,705▲+73%
- International sports competitions12,372▲+32%
- Cryptocurrency impact on forex markets8,594▲+103%
- Military technology advancements6,414▼-24%
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31 Retail companies here were named in the news over this period.
Watch Retail coverage in South Korea as it happens
Prism follows these subjects story by story — which companies are named, what is said about them and how the tone moves.
Momentum
The words getting louder — and quieter
Which terms are showing up in more stories than a year ago, and which are fading. The percentage is the change in how many articles mention them.
The pressures the press keeps returning to
Three recurring angles in South Korea Retail coverage, and whether each is getting more attention year on year (through 2025).
Retail jobs in South Korea: who is hiring and what they ask for
Reports zero job postings from these companies in the past 12 months.
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Track Retail in South Korea beyond this page
Radar finds and filters the companies. Prism watches what is being said about them.
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