Gmarket, the e-commerce arm of Shinsegae Group, is accelerating its partnership with China's Alibaba Group to transform into an artificial intelligence-driven global marketplace, with an ambitious target of surpassing 1 trillion won ($700 million) in annual cross-border sales within five years.
At a press conference in Seoul on Tuesday, CEO James Chang unveiled a 700 billion-won investment plan designed to more than double Gmarket's overall transaction volume. "Our new vision -- 'Gmarket is a global-local market' -- represents our ambition to bridge Korea's domestic and international markets through AI and global collaboration," he said.
The alliance with Alibaba deepens through Gmarket's integration with Lazada, Alibaba's Southeast Asian e-commerce arm. Products from Korean sellers are already available across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam, with further expansion planned into South Asia, Europe and the Americas.
"We've completed product integration with Lazada, enabling seamless overseas sales," said Lee Min-gi, head of Gmarket's seller growth division. "Our goal is to achieve 1 trillion won in annual cross-border gross merchandise volume within five years."
Under the joint venture, Gmarket will leverage Alibaba's cloud and big-data infrastructure as well as its generative AI capabilities to enhance search, advertising and logistics operations. The partnership will also introduce AI-based tools for sellers, including automated ad bidding, keyword optimization and personalized content creation.
Kim Jeong-woo, Gmarket's chief product officer, said the collaboration draws on Alibaba's vast AI ecosystem, which processes massive real-time data flows across more than 200 markets. "We're pursuing technical collaborations to deliver smarter and more efficient cross-border commerce," he said, adding that key infrastructure upgrades will be completed by 2027.
To address data security concerns, Gmarket stressed that all customer information will be handled independently within Korea. "Data used for AI training will remain on Gmarket's domestic servers and contain no personally identifiable information," Kim said.
Chang, a former Lazada executive, emphasized that Gmarket's new global push will not only expand its international footprint but also reinforce its domestic standing. "Harnessing AI to its fullest potential through our partnership with Alibaba is the only way for Gmarket to reclaim its position as Korea's No. 1 platform," he said.
By No Kyung-min ([email protected])