Delivery app Baemin to raise commission fee for restaurants

Delivery app Baedal Minjok, or Baemin, said Wednesday it will raise its commission fee for restaurants that have registered for Baemin delivery services to 9.8 percent of food prices from next month. Baemin has received 6.8 percent commissions from the registered restaurants. But its two smaller rivals -- Coupang Eats, the food delivery arm of e-commerce leader Coupang, and GS Retail Co.'s Yogiyo app -- have applied 12.5 percent and 9.8 percent commissions, respectively. "The planned hike in commissions is to better compete with (our) rivals on a level playing field," a Baemin spokesperson said over the phone. Baemin, under food delivery app owner Woowa Brothers Corp., reportedly accounts for about 60 percent of the country's food delivery app market, with the remainder shared by GS Retail Co.'s Yogiyo app and Coupang Eats, the food delivery arm of e-commerce leader Coupang. South Korea is one of the world's biggest food delivery markets, backed by its high smartphone penetration and dense population. In December 2019, German online food delivery service Delivery Hero acquired Woowa Brothers for US$4 billion. The German company currently owns a 99.07 percent stake in Woowa Brothers. Source: Yonhap News Agency