Baemin, Coupang Eats deliver final commission proposals to FTC

The food delivery giants have submitted their final commission rate proposals to the Fair Trade Commission, but whether the restaurants accept them remains to be seen.

Baedal Minjok and Coupang Eats stickers on a restaurant in Seoul on Monday [NEWS1]

Food delivery giants Baedal Minjok and Coupang Eats have submitted a revised proposal on commission rates charged to restaurants, but it is unclear if the regulatory body and restaurant industry will accept it.

"Coupang Eats has submitted a proposal to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC)," the company said Monday.

Baedal Minjok, commonly referred to as Baemin, has also submitted its final proposal, which it claimed is "improved" from the previous ones. The details of the proposals were not revealed as of Monday afternoon.

A committee made up of representatives from the delivery platform companies and the restaurant industry was formed in July as a part of a government initiative to handle the industry’s conflict regarding commission rates, opening 11 meetings in a 100-day period.

On Thursday, Baemin offered a proposal that reduced the charge from 9.8 percent to 7.8 percent while increasing the delivery cost charged to the restaurants by 500 won (36 cents). Coupang's previous proposal included decreasing the commission charge from 9.8 percent to 9.5 percent.

The final proposals will first be gauged by the FTC. If they are deemed worthy of consideration, the proposal will be sent to the committee, which will decide whether to accept it.

The country's third-largest delivery platform, Yogiyo, meanwhile, has come to an agreement with restaurants by itself, reducing its delivery commission from 12.5 percent to 9.7 percent.

FTC Vice President Cho Hong-sun expressed hope that the delivery platforms have submitted more "forward-looking" proposals in a briefing Monday.

Cho said he would prefer that the affected parties come to an agreement and not require the FTC to introduce new laws and policies as "the implementation of law and systematic improvements take a very long time and have limitations in reflecting all opinions."

The agency will, however, start investigating whether the platforms have misused their dominant market status in setting the commission rates.

Yogiyo came to a separate agreement with restaurants on Monday, announcing the 2.8 percentage point decrease in its delivery commission and a reduction in its takeout fee from 12.5 percent to 7.7 percent.

Yogiyo will also offer additional discounts to restaurants with high revenue, further reducing the delivery commission to 4.7 percent and the takeout fee to 2.7 percent.

Stores with revenue in the lower 40 percent will receive a 20 percent refund on the commission for a year. The refund will be made in the form of points that can be used within the platform.

“We hope to continue to find truthful measures so we can grow together with restaurant owners,” Yogiyo said Monday.

BY CHO YONG-JUN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]