South Korea targets price rules at Baemin and Coupang Eats

🎟️ Member perks came with price conditions. The commission says Coupang Eats used WOW store status from July 2023 to January 2026 to demand terms at least as good as competing apps received. The conditions covered six items, including menu prices, discounts and minimum orders. Baemin applied three similar conditions from May 2024 to October 2025 to restaurants using its delivery service. Shoppers could get member delivery benefits only at qualifying restaurants. The orders prohibit the demands, require merchant notices and require reporting on how the apps choose participating stores. The agency also ordered Coupang to remove a March notice it says left room for parity after Coupang told merchants in January it was lifting the requirement.

🛵 Baemin controlled how shoppers saw both delivery options. Baemin can pass an order to a restaurant that arranges delivery, or it can arrange the delivery itself. The regulator says Baemin pushed merchants toward its service by reducing exposure for restaurant-arranged delivery, merging the two listings and removing a flat-fee plan. The commission ordered Baemin to revisit the commission for restaurant-arranged delivery and regularly check displayed delivery estimates against actual times.

🧾 A separate order targets fees on discounts. The commission says Coupang calculated ordering and payment fees on the price before restaurant-funded discounts. It ordered Coupang to revise the terms within 60 days of receiving that order, after consulting the regulator. Coupang disputes the parity finding and says it compared stores only with the market leader and never terminated a restaurant contract under the WOW policy. Losing eligibility for member perks can still hurt a restaurant that remains listed. Woowa disputes the finding too. The final amounts and timing of revised merchant terms remain open.

🏷️ A lower commission needs a way onto the menu. The National Assembly Budget Office documented tiered ordering commissions of 2% to 7.8% at both apps in 2025. A restaurant can use a cheaper channel to offer a cheaper meal if it can keep member traffic on the bigger app. Smaller alternatives such as Ddaenggyeoyo and Mukkebi have a clearer way to compete on price if restaurants choose to pass along the savings.

⏱️ Show the buyer a fair comparison. In the regulator’s April 2023 to July 2025 data, restaurant-arranged delivery looked 13 minutes slower than Baemin’s economy delivery but was 1.4 minutes faster on average. Most restaurant-arranged estimates drew on times supplied by restaurants. Baemin’s own service learned from completed deliveries. If the display makes comparable options look unequal, an independent courier can lose orders before a buyer even sees the checkout.

💳 Count the fees on the sale you actually make. Under Coupang’s challenged terms, ordering and payment fees were charged on money the restaurant gave up through its own discount. A merchant comparing promotions should check both the discount it funds and the amount the platform uses to work out its fees. The commission has ordered a revision. The new fee calculation and any savings still depend on implementation.