이 기사는 2019년 10월 16일 08시00분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

Coupang, one of South Korea's most popular e-commerce platforms, has appointed an economist and former senior U.S. government official as a member of its board of directors, further fueling speculation that the company might put itself up for sale.

Coupang recently announced that former Federal Reserve (Fed) governor Kevin Warsh has joined its board of directors. "Coupang's mission is to transform our customers' lives," Kim Beom-seok, founder and CEO of Coupang, said in a statement. "Kevin's expertise will help us to continue growing and innovating to achieve that goal," he added.

Warsh is a renowned financier, who was also mentioned as one of candidates for Janet Yellen's successor in 2017 when the former Fed Chair stepped down. Industry watchers see the appointment as part of the company's efforts to attract additional investment. Despite aggregate proceeds amounting to more than four trillion won, the e-commerce platform still needs more money to fund further growth, with its accumulated loss reaching 3.5 trillion won.

Some experts are connecting the dots between the appointment and the possibility of selling the company. Prior to serving in the U.S. government, Warsh was a Vice President and Executive Director at Morgan Stanley in the M&A department.

There have been widespread rumors that Coupang might be sold to Amazon. The business model for the South Korean e-commerce company is much similar to Amazon's. With the aim to become Korea's Amazon, Coupang is seeking economies of scale, like Amazon did, continuing its investments to increase market share despite losses.

The fact that Amazon does not have a business unit in Korea also supports the rumors. The global e-commerce giant has not entered the Korean market yet, though it launched its local websites in other major Asian markets including China and Japan.

Amazon is reportedly more of negative about Korea's e-commerce market segment, with the domestic market already mature and competition getting fiercer. However, industry watchers see there is still a possibility that Amazon may expand its business to Korea, the third largest e-commerce market in the world behind China and the U.S, by acquiring a competitive firm.

"With continued losses, Coupang could face more pressure to sell the company from its investors who want to exit their investment. Amazon could be one of potential buyers when considering Coupang's size and the e-commerce market home and abroad," one industry source said.

SoftBank is also considered another potential buyer. Such a possibility has been rumored after the Japanese group's first one-billion-dollar investment in Coupang in 2015 followed by the two billion dollars last November.

Still, there is a chance for Coupang to go public, a prediction based on the view that it would be difficult to sell the company due to its massive losses. In this scenario, listing on Nasdaq in 2020 is considered highly likely.

Coupang has firmly denied such speculations. "There is zero possibility at present. I have nothing to say [about the rumors]," said a company official.

(By reporter Chung Mi-hyung)