Coupang's Labor Exploitation Model Mirrors Amazon's Worst Practices

Source: Kap Seol. "Coupang, South Korea’s Amazon, Is Copying Its Worst Habits." January 31, 2026. jacobin.com

The Gist

The author argues that South Korea's biggest online retailer, Coupang, has deliberately copied Amazon's worst business practices - treating workers as disposable, avoiding safety regulations, and prioritizing profits over people. By incorporating in the US while operating mainly in South Korea, Coupang dodges accountability for practices that have killed workers and exposed millions of customers' personal data.

Conclusion

Coupang has deliberately copied Amazon's exploitative business model, prioritizing financialized governance and shareholder value over worker welfare, while using its US incorporation to evade accountability for dangerous labor practices in South Korea

Premises

1. Coupang has systematically emulated Amazon's early expansion strategies, including ruthless pricing and aggressive competition elimination
2. Both companies exploit labor precarity through high-turnover at-will employment models (Amazon loses 3% of hourly workers weekly, achieving 150% annual turnover)
3. Coupang's governance structure completely separates executive incentives from worker welfare, with executive compensation tied only to talent retention and stock performance
4. The company uses its US incorporation and NYSE listing to dodge South Korean regulatory oversight and accountability measures
5. Coupang's labor practices have resulted in measurable harm: 8 worker deaths from overwork in 2025 alone, massive data breaches affecting 34 million customers, and systematic denial of social protections to contract workers
6. The company actively suppresses worker organizing through strategic mixing of regular and temporary workers, and has hired former officials to lobby against regulation
7. Coupang treats workplace safety and labor rights merely as 'reputational risks' that might affect stock prices rather than fundamental obligations

Assumptions

• Financialized corporate governance inherently conflicts with worker welfare
• US incorporation allows meaningful evasion of home country labor regulations
• High employee turnover rates indicate exploitative rather than efficient business practices
• Corporate lobbying and regulatory capture undermine legitimate worker protections
• The Amazon business model represents a harmful template that other companies should not emulate

Analysis

Overall strength: Strong. Argument type: Inductive.

Premise Strength

• Both companies exploit labor precarity through high-turnover at-will employment models (Strong) — Supported by specific statistics (150% annual turnover) and expert testimony
• Coupang's labor practices have resulted in measurable harm (Strong) — Concrete evidence: 8 deaths, 34 million affected by data breach
• The company uses its US incorporation to dodge regulatory oversight (Moderate) — Circumstantial evidence but lacks direct proof of intentional evasion strategy
• Coupang has systematically emulated Amazon's strategies (Moderate) — Pattern evidence but could benefit from more direct documentation of intentional copying

Potential Fallacies

• Hasty Generalization (Overall comparison framework) — The argument assumes all aspects of Amazon's business model are inherently exploitative based on labor practices, without considering potentially beneficial innovations
• Appeal to Emotion (Evidence about worker deaths and executive criticism) — The description of worker deaths and the quote calling an executive 'human trash' may substitute emotional impact for logical analysis

Counterarguments

• Labor exploitation claims (Medium impact) — High turnover might reflect worker choice and flexibility rather than exploitation
• US incorporation strategy (Medium impact) — Incorporation location might be driven by capital access needs rather than regulatory evasion
• Amazon comparison (Low impact) — Similar practices might emerge independently due to industry pressures rather than deliberate copying
• Worker harm evidence (High impact) — Deaths and injuries might be within industry norms for logistics operations

Suggested Improvements

• Causal evidence — Provide more direct evidence of intentional copying rather than pattern similarities Would strengthen the claim that Coupang deliberately emulated Amazon's worst practices
• Industry context — Compare Coupang's practices to other e-commerce platforms beyond Amazon Would demonstrate whether these practices are Amazon-specific or industry-wide problems
• Regulatory analysis — Include expert legal analysis of how US incorporation actually affects regulatory jurisdiction Would strengthen claims about regulatory evasion

Scenario Tests

• If Coupang were forced to reincorporate in South Korea (Supports) — Would test whether US incorporation is truly about regulatory evasion
• If other major e-commerce platforms show similar labor practices (Challenges) — Might indicate industry-wide rather than Amazon-specific problems
• If Coupang's practices improve worker productivity and wages over time (Challenges) — Could suggest short-term costs for long-term benefits

Coherence & Relevance

The premises work together effectively to support the conclusion that Coupang has systematically adopted Amazon's exploitative practices. The evidence is substantial and the logical connections are clear, though some causal claims could be strengthened.

• High-turnover employment models (Strong) — None significant
• US incorporation for regulatory evasion (Strong) — Could use more direct evidence of intent
• Financialized governance structure (Moderate) — Connection to worker harm could be more explicit
• Active suppression of organizing (Strong) — None significant

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