Coupang completes its biggest fulfillment center

Coupang's new fulfillment center in Dalseong County, Daegu. [COUPANG]

Coupang celebrated the completion of its Daegu fulfillment center, the biggest in the country.

The company held a ceremony at the center in Dalseong County, Daegu, on Thursday.

Construction started in February 2020, and over 320 billion won ($262.4 million) was invested. The fulfillment center is 330,000 square meters (3.55 million square feet) and has six floors, which Coupang claims is the biggest logistics center in Korea.

Although the company has never made a profit, Coupang has been spending a lot building local fulfillment centers. Since listing on the New York Stock Exchange in March 2021, it signed deals to build six logistics centers in Korea, investing a combined 1.04 trillion won.

The company will conduct tests on the systems installed in the Daegu center starting in April and start operations in the second half of next year.

With a new logistics center, Coupang said it will be able to offer better quality next day delivery service, or Rocket Delivery, for customers in the Daegu and Gyeongsang area.

It also said the logistics center will create over 2,500 jobs. The e-commerce company plans to prioritize women and elderly workers when hiring staff for the center.

BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]