Is Auction (eBay Korea's old marketplace) still around in 2026?

Yes, Auction operates as a sister brand to Gmarket under Grand Opus Holdings, the Shinsegae-Alibaba joint venture launched November 2025. Auction had 2.7 million monthly active users as of September 2025, far behind Gmarket's 6.7 million and Coupang's 34.2 million.

Is Auction/Gmarket profitable?

No. Grand Opus Holdings, Auction's parent, posted an operating loss of KRW 119.9 billion in Q1 2026. CEO James Chang stated on June 21, 2026 that 2026-2027 are growth-investment years with profitability targeted only from 2028.

Who owns Auction now?

Auction is owned by Gmarket Inc. (formerly eBay Korea), which Shinsegae acquired an 80.01% stake in for KRW 3.44 trillion in June 2021. As of November 2025, Gmarket and Auction sit inside Grand Opus Holdings, a 50-50 Shinsegae-Alibaba joint venture chaired by Chung Yong-jin.

Could AI replace Auction's marketplace business?

Core low-differentiation tasks like search and recommendation are exposed, but as of July 8, 2026 Gmarket/Auction has only announced plans for AI-based personalized search within 2026, not shipped it. Its 660,000-seller network and fulfillment infrastructure resist pure AI replacement for now.

Who is Auction's biggest competitor?

Coupang, which held about 28% of Korea's e-commerce market in 2025 versus declining share for Gmarket/Auction, had roughly 33.25 million monthly active users in April 2026, and is investing KRW 3 trillion ($2B) in logistics infrastructure including autonomous robots.

Is Auction losing market share to Coupang and Naver?

Yes. Euromonitor's 2025 data shows Gmarket (Auction's parent) and 11st both losing share every year from 2020 to 2025, while Coupang held about 28% share and Naver about 16%, and Chinese platforms AliExpress and Temu are closing in with 7-9 million MAU each.

E-commerce and marketplaces · subsidiary of Grand Opus Holdings (50-50 Shinsegae-Alibaba JV, formed Nov 2025; Shinsegae contributed 80% of Gmarket shares via 100%-owner Apollo Korea) · South Korea

Auction (eBay Korea legacy)

auction.co.kr ↗

Auction is a legacy Korean marketplace, now Gmarket's smaller sister under Shinsegae and Alibaba.

Losing its protection

Assessed 25 July 2026 · Evidence as of 25 July 2026

The structural protection is eroding.

On the recordSince 25 July 2026 · Checkable from H2 2026 · Every call on the record Checkpoint: H2 2026 operating loss trend and 2026 AI-personalization launch for Gmarket/Auction

The call

Auction sits as the smaller, loss-sharing sibling to Gmarket inside a group still losing ground to Coupang and Naver each year.

Auction is an online marketplace in South Korea where people buy and sell items, similar to eBay in the United States. It is getting harder to compete because Coupang (a bigger rival with its own delivery network) and Naver keep winning customers away. Auction has fewer active users (2.7 million) than Coupang (33 million) and has been losing market share every year since 2020. The company promised to add artificial intelligence features to personalize shopping by 2026, but has not delivered them yet, and there is a risk the parent company could shut down the Auction brand entirely in the next round of cost-cutting.

Why

AI pressure: AI-native shopping agents from Coupang and Naver. Auction's AI personalization is only promised for 2026 while Coupang and Naver could ship shopping agents first and pull buyers away. Could AI do the core job? Only partly.

Bigger players: Coupang. Coupang's 33M MAU and $2B logistics buildout have pulled share from Auction and Gmarket every year since 2020. Could a giant copy it? Yes, easily.

What protects it. Shared seller network and buyer base with Gmarket, plus Alibaba JV scale, cushion Auction without giving it its own edge.

What would change this call

Grand Opus/Gmarket H2 2026 operating loss vs Q1 2026's KRW 119.9B. Whether the group's losses are narrowing toward its 2028 profit target or widening.
Any announcement folding Auction's brand into Gmarket. Would confirm Auction is being rationalized away rather than invested in.
Auction MAU falling below 2M in future user-tracking reports. Would show accelerating customer loss to Coupang and Naver.

Key numbers

Auction 2.7M MAU vs Gmarket 6.8M, Coupang 33M (2026)
Grand Opus Holdings Q1 2026 operating loss KRW 119.9B (2026-06-21)
Shinsegae paid ~$3B for 80.01% of eBay Korea in 2021 (2022-03-09)

Named risks

Operating losses widening (KRW119.9B Q1 2026) with profitability not targeted until 2028. Severity: high
Second voluntary retirement round or brand consolidation into Gmarket possible if losses persist. Severity: medium
AI personalization features remain roadmap-only for 2026 while Coupang and sibling SSG.com lead on AI deployment. Severity: medium
Continuing share erosion to Coupang, Naver, and Chinese platforms AliExpress and Temu since 2020. Severity: high
3-year FTC data-separation order limits synergy with AliExpress data/AI capabilities through ~2028. Severity: low

Rivals, as read in July 2026

Rival	Direction	Evidence
Coupang	losing to	28% market share vs declining Gmarket/Auction share, 33.25M MAU vs 6.9M, as of 2026-04
Naver	losing to	~16% market share in 2025 with e-commerce-first strategy shift, per Euromonitor 2025
AliExpress	contesting	9.2M MAU vs Auction's 2.7M as of 2025-09, now co-owned sibling under Grand Opus Holdings
11st	losing to	11st at 7.7-8.15M MAU vs Gmarket's 6.9M as of 2026-04-22
Temu	gaining on	Chinese C-commerce platform closing gap with 7-9M range MAU as of 2026-04

Questions people ask

Is Auction (eBay Korea's old marketplace) still around in 2026?: Yes, Auction operates as a sister brand to Gmarket under Grand Opus Holdings, the Shinsegae-Alibaba joint venture launched November 2025. Auction had 2.7 million monthly active users as of September 2025, far behind Gmarket's 6.7 million and Coupang's 34.2 million.
Is Auction/Gmarket profitable?: No. Grand Opus Holdings, Auction's parent, posted an operating loss of KRW 119.9 billion in Q1 2026. CEO James Chang stated on June 21, 2026 that 2026-2027 are growth-investment years with profitability targeted only from 2028.
Who owns Auction now?: Auction is owned by Gmarket Inc. (formerly eBay Korea), which Shinsegae acquired an 80.01% stake in for KRW 3.44 trillion in June 2021. As of November 2025, Gmarket and Auction sit inside Grand Opus Holdings, a 50-50 Shinsegae-Alibaba joint venture chaired by Chung Yong-jin.
Could AI replace Auction's marketplace business?: Core low-differentiation tasks like search and recommendation are exposed, but as of July 8, 2026 Gmarket/Auction has only announced plans for AI-based personalized search within 2026, not shipped it. Its 660,000-seller network and fulfillment infrastructure resist pure AI replacement for now.
Who is Auction's biggest competitor?: Coupang, which held about 28% of Korea's e-commerce market in 2025 versus declining share for Gmarket/Auction, had roughly 33.25 million monthly active users in April 2026, and is investing KRW 3 trillion ($2B) in logistics infrastructure including autonomous robots.
Is Auction losing market share to Coupang and Naver?: Yes. Euromonitor's 2025 data shows Gmarket (Auction's parent) and 11st both losing share every year from 2020 to 2025, while Coupang held about 28% share and Naver about 16%, and Chinese platforms AliExpress and Temu are closing in with 7-9 million MAU each.

Timeline

2026-07-08Gmarket reports H1 2026 GMV grew YoY for first time in 4 years, 660k sellers
2026-06-21CEO James Chang: 2026-27 growth focus, profit targeted from 2028, Q1 loss KRW119.9B
2026-04-22Gmarket at 6.81-6.9M MAU, trailing 11st and Naver Plus Store, Coupang at 33.25M
2025-11Grand Opus Holdings formally launches; Chung Yong-jin named board chairman
2025-10-22Gmarket unveils plan to invest KRW700B/year to double GMV to KRW40T by 2030
2025-09-29Lazada-Gmarket storefront tie-up launches in LazMall for Southeast Asia
2025-09-18Korea FTC conditionally approves Shinsegae-Alibaba combination with data-separation order
2024-12-26Shinsegae and Alibaba announce 50-50 Grand Opus Holding JV, valued ~KRW6 trillion
2024-09Gmarket runs its first-ever voluntary retirement program amid losses
2021-06Shinsegae acquires 80.01% of eBay Korea for KRW3.44 trillion (~$3B)

Revision history

25 July 2026

First assessed. Losing its protection. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.

In the same band

Wayfair Meituan Shein Group