- Published 2026.11.05 20:51
Works with Taiwan environment ministry and e-commerce platforms to root out 'environmental drugs'
Asks government for product images to counter sellers' keyword evasion
Taiwan Coupang app users hit 11.9 million in July as it expands
As the Taiwanese government moves to eradicate online sales of illegal pesticides and other 'environmental drugs,' Coupang has proposed building a blocking system using artificial intelligence (AI) image identification technology. Coupang, which is rapidly growing its app user base in Taiwan's e-commerce market, is strengthening cooperation with local authorities.
On Nov. 5, Taiwan's Environmental Chemicals Administration (ECA) under the Ministry of Environment held an 'environmental drug prevention press conference' with officials from major e-commerce platforms including Coupang, PChome, and Shopee, announcing measures to block the distribution of illegal drugs. The event was organized to prevent online sales of unlicensed pesticides and insect repellents and to encourage public reporting.
The Taiwanese government defines pesticides and natural repellents without government permit numbers as environmental drugs and is intensively cracking down on them. According to the ECA, 50,673 illegal sales were detected on online platforms in 2025, and 17,107 cases have been confirmed as of September this year. Currently, 11 platforms including Coupang and Shopee are participating in the government's self-regulatory measures, deleting 100 to 500 violating posts per platform each month.
Despite the platforms' own deletion measures, sellers' evasion of search keywords to continue registering illegal drugs has been pointed out as a key issue. Pesticides containing fipronil, termite treatments, and cockroach repellents are being distributed by cleverly bypassing platform search networks or sold illegally through Facebook and Line.
When the limitations of text filtering were pointed out at the event, Taiwan Coupang proposed introducing AI technology as an alternative. Coupang said, "We absolutely do not allow the registration of illegal drugs on our platform, but there are limits to blocking all methods where sellers evade keywords in a 'cat-and-mouse' game. If the Ministry of Environment provides images of illegal products, the platform will identify and block them using AI."
Coupang's proactive response to local regulations comes as the Taiwanese market is rapidly growing. Since entering Taiwan in October 2022, it has been expanding its market share with large-scale logistics investments and 'Rocket Delivery.' According to global web traffic analysis site Similarweb, the number of Coupang app users in Taiwan reached 11.9 million as of July.
Local regulatory authorities plan to further strengthen cooperation with platforms. The ECA said, "If there is no government permit number, or if only a Line ID or email is listed without a physical address, or if reviews are uniformly perfect scores, it is highly likely to be an illegal environmental drug," urging consumers to be cautious and actively report.
※ This article is an AI translation of the Korean original published by Korea Credit News; it was checked by automated quality guards and published by the English edition desk.
