Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 20, 2026

Bom Kim

Kim Beomseok, known professionally in the West as Bom Kim, is an American businessman of South Korean origin, who is the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Coupang Inc. In 2018, when SoftBank Vision Fund invested US$2 billion in Coupang, valuing the company at US$9 billion, Kim became the second-youngest billionaire in South Korea at the age of 40. As of November 2024, Kim has an estimated net worth of US$4.3 billion.

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Bom Kim
김범석
Born (1978-10-07) 7 October 19781
Seoul, South Korea
Alma materHarvard University (BA)
TitleFounder & CEO of Coupang
Children1
Korean name
Hangul
김범석
RRGim Beomseok
MRKim Pŏmsŏk

Kim Beomseok (Korean: 김범석; born 7 October 1978), known professionally in the West as Bom Kim, is an American businessman of South Korean origin, who is the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Coupang Inc.23 In 2018, when SoftBank Vision Fund invested US$2 billion in Coupang, valuing the company at US$9 billion, Kim became the second-youngest billionaire in South Korea at the age of 40. As of November 2024, Kim has an estimated net worth of US$4.3 billion.4

Early life

Kim was born in Seoul, South Korea, on 7 October 1978. At age 7, he and his family moved to the United States.5 He went to Deerfield Academy, a boarding school in Massachusetts, where he was on the varsity wrestling and track teams.6 He graduated from Harvard College with a bachelor's degree,7 and attended Harvard Business School, dropping out in his second semester.4

Kim interned at The New Republic, started a student magazine, Current, and worked briefly at Boston Consulting Group prior to founding the magazine 02138, named for Harvard's ZIP Code. He raised US$4 million to fund 02138 and started Coupang after it folded.78

Coupang

Coupang delivery truck in Seoul, 2017. source ↗

Kim founded Coupang in 2010 and has since gone on to raise more than US$3.8 billion in venture capital from investors including Sequoia Capital, Softbank, and BlackRock.910

It began as a Groupon-like website and now operates as an online retailer with a logistics service called Rocket Delivery. It was reported in 2018 that Coupang would gross KRW2.7 trillion in annual sales and lost KRW1.7 trillion between 2015 and 2017, and maintains over 3.5 million daily active users as of 2019.11

The company employs over 40,000 people with offices in Seoul, Taipei, Singapore,12 Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo, Seattle, Silicon Valley, and many more.13

Legals issues

Kim faced legal scrutiny in 2026 in Korea,141516 and calls for leniency from the US government.17

Personal life

Kim is married, has one child, and lives in Seoul.4

References

References

  1. 김범석. www.businesspost.co.kr. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  2. Palmer, Annie (16 June 2020). "Coupang, a SoftBank-backed start-up, is crushing Amazon to become South Korea's biggest online retailer". CNBC. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  3. Chung, Gracs (20 November 2018). "Coupang, Korea's Answer to Amazon, Raises $2 Billion, Mints New Billionaire". Forbes. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  4. "Forbes profile: Bom Kim". Forbes. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  5. "Coupang: Harvard dropout rockets into mega-billionaire's club". BBC News. 12 March 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  6. "South Korea #6: An Exciting Visit with Bom Kim '96, CEO of Coupang". Deerfield Academy.
  7. Mac, Ryan. "Coupang: The $5 Billion Startup Filling Amazon's Void In South Korea". Forbes.
  8. Green, Dennis. "The CEO of 'the Amazon of South Korea' explains how canceling an IPO at the last minute and pivoting the company twice led it to become the country's top online retailer". Business Insider.
  9. "Harvard Dropout's Startup Loses Billions in South Korea Battle". Bloomberg.com. 22 May 2018.
  10. de la Merced, Michael J. (20 November 2018). "Coupang, South Korean E-Commerce Start-up, Raises $2 Billion From SoftBank". The New York Times.
  11. Song, Jung-a (January 2019). "Etailers battle to win 'Amazon of South Korea' crown". Financial Times. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  12. 쿠팡 해외 첫 진출국은 '싱가포르'. IT Chosun. 12 April 2021.
  13. "Coupang highlights creativity, openness in its new office". The Korea Herald. 19 November 2017.
  14. Ruling Party Counters U.S. Push to Protect Coupang's Kim Bom-suk Seoul Economic Daily, Lee Gun-yul, 2026.04.27
  15. Coupang founder faces mounting calls for stricter FTC scrutiny Korea Times, Lee Min-hyung, April 26, 2026
  16. Coupang saga may stir US-Korea dispute over Chairman Bom Kim’s legal status Korea Economic Daily, Hyeong-Ju Oh and Dae-Hun Kim, April 23, 2026
  17. US has no business telling Korea whether it can arrest Coupang founder Hankyoreh, 2026-04-23