Baedal Minjok mulls raising commission fee to 9.8%

[Photo by MK DB]

South Korean food delivery platform Baedal Minjok is reportedly planning to raise its commission fees to around 10 percent, aligning with competitor Coupang Eats. The increase is likely to spark opposition from the platform’s partner businesses, who have already been vocal about the burden of existing fees. This also creates controversy as the move comes amid government efforts to ease financial pressures on small business owners by proposing shared delivery fee solutions.

Woowa Brothers, which operates Baedal Minjok, announced on Tuesday that it is conducting a comprehensive review of its pricing structure, including the potential increase in intermediary commission fees. Baedal Minjok currently charges a 6.8 percent commission on order mediation and delivery services, including its ‘Economy Delivery’ and ‘Single House Delivery’ options.

In comparison, Coupang Eats, the second-largest player in the market, charges a 9.8 percent commission, which is 3 percentage points higher than Baedal Minjok while also offering free delivery benefits to its Wow membership. Meanwhile, Baedal Minjok recently announced plans to increase the price of its previously free subscription service, Baemin Club, to 3,990 won.

To counterbalance the proposed 3-percentage-point increase in delivery commission fees, Baedal Minjok is considering reducing or eliminating packaging order fees. This consideration follows a recent controversy after Baedal Minjok announced it would charge the same 6.8 percent commission on packaging orders as it does on delivery, unlike Coupang Eats, which offers this service for free.