Delivery Riders and Restaurant Owners Stage Baemin Boycott, Call for Regulatory Legislation – Korea IT Times
On June 21st, delivery riders and restaurant owners declared a boycott of the food delivery app Baedal Minjok (Baemin), demanding regulatory legislation for delivery apps.
Baemin introduced the bundled delivery service in late April last year. The delivery fee for the previous ‘immediate delivery’ (single-order delivery) was 3,000 won per order, while the fee for the bundled delivery was set at 2,200 won per order. As of June 1st, Baemin applied the bundled delivery fee structure to B-Mart as well.
According to ‘Korea Economic TV’ and other sources, around 100 members of the Rider Union gathered near the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, for the ‘Baemin Protest Action’ on this day. Despite the scorching heat, the riders, wearing helmets and vests, took to the roads. Their motorcycles were adorned with placards reading “Regulate the Exploitation by Delivery Platforms.”
The riders stated, “Baemin has kept the single-order delivery fee frozen at 3,000 won for ten years while setting the bundled delivery (multi-order delivery) fee at 2,200 won per delivery.” They further demanded, “Even B-Mart deliveries, which used to pay over 3,000 won per delivery, have switched to the 2,200 won fee under the bundled delivery system. We demand the normalization of B-Mart delivery fees.”
Riders at the protest claimed that Baemin’s application of the bundled delivery system to B-Mart deliveries has caused their income to decrease by 30 to 50 percent. One delivery rider, identified as A, said, “Normally, I earn about 3 million won a month, but this month I’ve only made 1 million won so far.” Another rider, B, added, “I used to make around 200,000 won working 8 to 9 hours a day, but now I have to work 12 hours to make the same amount.”
In response, a Baemin representative stated, “We have not lowered the rider fees. When orders are dispatched individually, the basic delivery fee of 3,000 won applies, but when multiple orders are bundled together, the fee of 2,200 won per order is applied.”
Additionally, the ‘National Association of Store Owners for a Fair Platform’ (abbreviated as ‘Gongsamo’) announced a collective action where restaurant owners would turn off Baemin delivery orders for a day and only accept ‘store delivery’ (a service where the store owner handles the delivery themselves). Gongsamo is an online group consisting of about 300 self-employed individuals nationwide. Kim Youngmyung, the chairman of Gongsamo, explained, “Problems such as financial difficulties for restaurant owners and delivery agencies, drop in rider fees, and delays in delivery have arisen due to Baemin deliveries. We planned this event to encourage customers to make rational choices.”
Meanwhile, German company Delivery Hero acquired Baemin in 2019 for 4.75 trillion won. Baemin, the top company in the food delivery industry, achieved nearly 700 billion won in operating profit last year. Delivery Hero received 412.7 billion won in dividends.
