Riders and Restaurant Owners Voice Growing Dissatisfaction with Delivery Hero-Owned Baedal Minjok – Korea IT Times
Consumers worry, “Will fees be passed on to food prices?”
Riders and restaurant owners in South Korea have voiced their dissatisfaction with the delivery app Baedal Minjok, recently acquired by Germany’s Delivery Hero, and plan to take collective action on June 21.
On June 12, the Riders Union announced in a statement that it would hold a rally in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on June 21.
The Riders Union stated, “Baedal Minjok continues to cut delivery fees and change working conditions to the disadvantage of riders,” adding that “even after the rally, we will continue to protest through various means such as guerrilla order refusals, a public condemnation event, and a petition campaign among store owners.”
On the same day, restaurant owners will launch a “Turn Off Baedal Minjok” campaign. A coalition of restaurant owners advocating for a fair platform stated, “On the 21st, only ‘self-delivery’ will be operated through Baedal Minjok,” expressing strong opposition to excessive commission fees.
Recently, Baedal Minjok announced plans to charge a 6.8% commission on takeout orders as well, sparking even more backlash from store owners who have decried it as the tyranny of a giant platform.
There are also concerns that the increased commission fees will be transferred to food prices, burdening consumers even further. One consumer lamented, “Takeout orders often come with discounts, but I’m worried that the prices will go up because of the commissions.”
In response, Representative Yoon Sang-hyun of the People Power Party criticized, “The abuse of monopoly power has gone too far.” On June 5, he stated on his Facebook page, “Why does Baedal Minjok take a 6.8% cut just for accepting orders?” and questioned, “How are small business owners supposed to survive when they have to pay not just platform fees and advertising costs, but also credit card processing fees and delivery charges?”
Yoon further highlighted the plight of small business owners amid skyrocketing dining-out costs and high inflation and interest rates, calling the fees “nothing short of murderous acts against small business owners already pushed to the brink.”
In 2019, Germany’s Delivery Hero acquired Baedal Minjok for 4.75 trillion KRW. Baedal Minjok, the leading company in the food delivery industry, achieved nearly 700 billion KRW in operating profit last year, with Delivery Hero taking 412.7 billion KRW in dividends.
