A social dialogue body launched under the leadership of the Democratic Party’s Euljiro Committee to discuss overhauling delivery platform commission structures is faltering from the outset, with talks on shared-growth measures such as fee cuts repeatedly stalling.
Industry officials said the second meeting of the delivery app coexistence consultative body, scheduled for the 27th, was called off after merchant groups that list on the platforms did not attend. The first meeting on April 10 ended with the two sides confirming their differences, and plans for follow-up discussions have now also broken down.
The consultative body includes delivery platforms such as Baedal Minjok and Coupang Eats, along with major merchant groups including the Owners’ Association for a Fair Platform, the National Franchisee Council, the Korea Foodservice Industry Association, the Korea Franchise Industry Association and the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprises.
Delivery platforms are currently applying a tiered commission system introduced in November 2024. They charge brokerage fees of 7.8% to the top 35% of merchants by sales, 6.8% to those in the 35% to 80% bracket, and 2.0% to the bottom 20%.
At the first meeting, platforms were reported to have proposed expanding the 2.0% tier from the bottom 20% to the bottom 30%, while applying 7.8% to the remaining 70%. They also proposed creating a new category for deliveries within 1 kilometer, applying commissions in the 5% range and delivery fees in the high 2,000-won range.
The Euljiro Committee argued that the revision could increase the fee burden for some merchants and called for an overall reduction in commissions, but platforms maintained that further cuts would be difficult.
Merchant groups responded coolly, saying small business owners are already at their limit due to cost pressures from inflation linked to the war in the Middle East. They said the talks should include not only lower commission rates but also practical support such as help with packaging materials and food ingredients.
Complicating matters are differing interests within the merchant groups themselves. With groups varying in size and business type, their demands differ, making it structurally difficult to reach a unified position. No follow-up schedule has been set since the second meeting collapsed.
“Each group’s interests are so sharply divided that coordination does not look easy,” an industry official said, adding that the effort is “losing momentum to the point that they cannot even set the next meeting.” The official said the government should first prepare support measures for the most urgent micro and small business owners, then guide the process toward step-by-step alternatives for the merchant groups.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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