[글로벌에픽 안재후 CP] Baedal Minjok, the No. 1 delivery market company (operated by Woowa Brothers), faced intensive scrutiny at the National Assembly's 2025 October state audit.

The first criticism raised at the state audit was the surging commission burden. Rep. Lee Gang-il of the Democratic Party noted "restaurant delivery commissions that were 5-15% in 2022 have now risen to 25-35%" and pointed out "in just 3 years, they have tripled." A Chinese restaurant in Gyeonggi Province saw its commission skyrocket from 4.4% to 29.8%.
Rep. Lee Gang-il strongly criticized, "delivery app commissions are not simply a cost issue but a matter of survival." As competition intensified following Coupang Eats' free delivery service launch in 2024, Baedal Minjok began imposing excessive commissions, and it was during this period that most-favored-customer demands, bundled sales, and other practices began. As a result, restaurant operating profit margins fell to around 9%.

Commission increase: From 5-15% in 2022 to 25-35% in 2025

Baedal Minjok proposed a tiered commission system through a coexistence council last year, but the actual effect is deemed minimal. According to the coexistence pricing plan implemented from February 26, 2025, the existing 9.8% fixed commission was replaced with tiered rates based on sales scale: top 35% receive 7.8%, 35-80% receive 6.8%, and bottom 20% receive 2.0%. Commissions are charged alongside delivery fees in the 1,900-3,400 won range.
Business operators' associations point out that while sales appear to increase on the surface, the overall burden is not significantly reduced due to increased delivery fees. The industry argues that very few business owners receive the minimum commission rate of 2.0% based on transaction amounts. Some specific cases show that even shop owners with only 90,000 won in daily sales are charged the maximum 7.8% commission rate.

Tiered commission effect minimal... Business owners receiving minimum rate very few

On June 19, 2025, Baedal Minjok announced further strengthened coexistence measures. The plan involved eliminating intermediary commissions for orders under 10,000 won to business owners and providing delivery fee support. With this policy implementation, Woowa Brothers plans to invest up to 300 billion won over three years.
However, as pointed out at the state audit, small orders under 10,000 won account for only about one-third of total deliveries. The criticism is raised that business owners who actually benefit are extremely limited. Those with heavy delivery commission burdens must still bear high commission rates and delivery fees, with no change in the situation.

Most-Favored-Customer Status and Dual Pricing: 'Stripping self-employed workers of pricing autonomy'

Most-favored-customer status and dual pricing issues were key contentions at this year's state audit. Most-favored-customer status refers to a requirement that menu prices listed on Baedal Minjok must be the same or cheaper than on other delivery apps. Shop owners can no longer set prices at their own discretion, and prices set by the delivery platform become the ceiling.
The Fair Trade Commission views this as 'a representative unfair practice that harms market competition,' and requested voluntary compliance in April 2024, but the situation remains unchanged. At the state audit, CEO Kim Beom-seok explained, "as a matter of policy, we do not require most-favored-customer status, and if it existed, it seems there was an error," but lawmakers did not accept this explanation.

More problematic is the 'One-Bowl Delivery' service. At the state audit, Rep. Kim Dong-ah of the Democratic Party presented a recorded call between a sales representative and a business owner, which showed forcing food prices to be discounted by over 20% with no minimum order amount. The burden of discounts falls entirely on self-employed workers while Baedal Minjok charges commissions based on the pre-discount amount. Rep. Lee Gang-il criticized, "While promoting small-order discounts and consumer benefits, it is actually forcing self-employed workers to bear discounts of over 20%."

Commissions even on takeouts... In effect, 'another price increase'

Starting April 2025, Baedal Minjok began charging a full 6.8% commission on pickup orders that previously had no commissions. Baedal Minjok explained this as part of its 'Year of Pickup' new strategy, but business owners interpreted it differently. After inducing packaging services with delivery fee savings logic and then charging commissions, it represents 'another commission increase.' As previously free services suddenly became charged, the actual commission burden increased.

Rep. Park Hyung-soo raised this issue strongly at the state audit, and pickup order commissions were discussed in both committee audits. Baedal Minjok's argument is that the approximately 3,400 won delivery fee savings exceeds the 1,700 won commission, but in reality, it was a pure commission increase for customers who prefer only packaging.

98% of self-employed workers use Baemin, half depend 75% or more on it for sales

The seriousness of the issue lies in the fact that Baedal Minjok is virtually essential infrastructure for business owners. According to a survey disclosed by Rep. Kim Seung-won of the Democratic Party, 98% of 839 self-employed workers are using Baemin, and nearly half (45%) depend 75% or more of their sales on delivery. 29% of respondents rely solely on Baemin for 50% or more of their sales.

Rep. Jung Jin-wook of the Democratic Party pointed out, "self-employed workers cannot escape from Baedal Minjok and Coupang Eats, and together these two companies form a monopolistic market." This means business owners have virtually no choice, and Baedal Minjok can impose any burden it wishes. Rep. Jung emphasized more strongly, "since the company uses the word 'nation' in its corporate name, it needs to bear greater social responsibility."

Delivery app commission fee cap legislation being pursued... 'Special law enactment under consideration'

The National Assembly's anger is expected to translate into legislation. The Democratic Party's 'Eulji-ro Committee' is pushing for the enactment of a 'Special Law for Regulating Delivery Platforms' before the regular session ends (December 9). This is because voluntary self-regulation through the coexistence council has failed to prove its effectiveness. An official from the Eulji-ro Committee stated, "while our original aim was self-regulation through coexistence rather than legislation, as self-employed workers continue to face difficulties and both ruling and opposition parties have submitted bills for commission fee caps, there is now a need to consider legislative discussions."

The Fair Trade Commission has already sent an examination report on Baedal Minjok's most-favored-customer status requirement and is operating a dedicated task force for delivery apps, planning to complete investigations and determine penalties by year-end. Fair Trade Commission Chair Ju Byung-gi stated, "We will thoroughly investigate to ensure the delivery app market becomes an innovation platform where self-employed workers and consumers can coexist."

[글로벌에픽 안재후 CP / anjaehoo@naver.com]