Emart is South Korea's oldest and largest discount store chain, with a total sales volume exceeding US$9.4 billion in 2009.

For a period of time, Emart implemented a "lowest compensation system" that gave gift certificates worth 5,000 won if items were more expensive than other discount stores but ended the promotion in 2007, saying that "some advertisements are false hype".

[12] In September 2007, the Korea Food and Drug Administration announced that chlorphenapir, a pesticide component, was detected above the standard in Emart's first water powder green tea sold under its own brand.

[14] As of September 2009, Emart has 127 and 4 distribution centers in South Korea, with 22 stores in the People's Republic of China.

American company Good Food Holdings, Inc., parent of Bristol Farms, was acquired in 2018 by Emart for $275 million.

[17] In December 2019, Endeavour Capital announced that it would be selling the grocery chain New Seasons Market to Emart, specifically to its subsidiary, Good Food Holdings, in a sale transaction that was finalized in early 2020.

[23] In January 2022, Emart acquired a majority stake (80.01%) in eBay Korea, which it renamed "Gmarket Global".