Alibaba to launch B2B platform exclusively for Korean sellers

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.com, owned by Alibaba Group, said Monday that it will launch an online platform to help Korean sellers expand into global online markets.

The new platform, called the South Korea Pavilion, will be available starting Aug. 8 and will focus on business-to-business transactions, according to the company.

"Despite the abundance of talented sellers in Korea across various fields such as food, cosmetics and auto parts, many still struggle to expand their online sales, especially in overseas markets, even though there is a growing demand for Korean products among global buyers," said Andrew Zheng, vice president of Alibaba.com, during a press conference held at a Seoul hotel on Monday.

"This is why Alibaba.com has chosen Korea as one of our key focus areas. Our goal is to help more than 5,000 Korean sellers enter the global B2B online market. We hope these sellers will find greater export opportunities and reach a global audience through the South Korea Pavilion."

According to the company, about 2,550 Korean small and medium-sized businesses have entered the global market through its platform over the past four years. In 2023 alone, over 610,000 Korean-made products were exported, generating sales of over 130 billion won ($93.6 million).

The South Korea Pavilion is the first country-specific platform in Asia from Alibaba Group, following the launch of the German Pavilion, which targets the European market.

The company also explained that the South Korea Pavilion was designed to provide a space exclusively for Korean sellers. This allows them to avoid intense competition with global conglomerates, enhancing business efficiency between global buyers and Korean sellers.

"For the next three months, we will invest heavily in promoting our new platform on the global stage to attract attention from global sellers. We will also provide additional benefits for Korean sellers who join us to increase their online sales opportunities," said Marco Yang, head of Alibaba.com Korea.

"It would be ideal for us if these Korean sellers transition to Alibaba.com, our main service, once they get familiar with online sales strategies from using the South Korea Pavilion."

The membership fee for the South Korea Pavilion is $199 per year, offering a significantly lower entry price than Alibaba.com’s current annual fee of $7,499. While no commission is currently planned for each business contract, the new platform may implement some commission fees once it judges that the online B2B business market in Korea has grown sufficiently, the company said.

Only Korean companies are eligible to join the South Korea Pavilion. Alibaba.com will verify individual sellers' information to ensure they are Korean companies, outsourcing the process to the Geneva-based verification service provider SGS.