National Policy Committee Chairperson Yun Han-hong said regarding the delivery app commission cap that the government and the ruling party are reviewing, "The commission burden on onboarded merchants will be eased, but the problem of commissions being passed on through indirect methods will arise," adding, "It could instead hurt many ordinary people." Although the aim is to reduce the revenue of platform corporations that operate delivery apps and lessen the burden on ordinary people, he said there is a need to review the plan because the real economy and the field are not expected to work that way.
Chairperson Yun set out his position on economic issues under the National Policy Committee's purview, including the delivery app commission cap, in an interview with ChosunBiz on 17th at the National Policy Committee chair's office at the National Assembly. Yun is a three-term lawmaker with the People Power Party representing Masanhoewon-gu, Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province. A former Seoul City civil servant, he also served as vice governor of South Gyeongsang.
Regarding the delivery app commission cap being reviewed by the government and the ruling party, Chairperson Yun said, "If you forcibly block the ceiling on delivery app commissions, delivery platforms will inevitably take revenue by other means," adding, "I understand the desire for delivery platforms' revenue to decrease, but in reality, platforms may see revenue grow while self-employed business owners, riders, and consumers are likely to lose out." He said the problem cannot be solved by forcibly capping prices and that only unforeseen side effects may arise.
Chairperson Yun said, "At last year's parliamentary audit, I told Fair Trade Commission Chairperson Han Ki-jeong that the term 'free delivery' is not accurate because the delivery fee borne by the seller is included in the price of the goods," adding, "In a situation where the interests of various groups are intricately entangled, no citizens should be harmed."
Chairperson Yun cited reform of the financial oversight structure as a representative policy that the government and ruling party are pushing without understanding the field well. The government and ruling party are pursuing a plan to split the current financial oversight system, divided between the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service, into four bodies: the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Financial Supervisory Commission, the Financial Supervisory Service, and the Financial Consumer Protection Agency.
Chairperson Yun said, "As the number of agencies in charge of policy and oversight functions increases to four, expenses from setting up organizations, as well as expense burdens on the financial industry, will inevitably rise," adding, "These expenses will be passed on to financial consumers." He added, "According to the ruling party's restructuring bill, only top posts increase, such as four commissioners at the Financial Consumer Commission and three at the Financial Consumer Protection Agency. I am very concerned that the consumer protection intent will be diluted and it will become a reorganization to secure parachute positions."
He said that during this year's parliamentary audit he will closely examine whether reforming the financial oversight structure serves the public. Chairperson Yun said, "I do not intend to oppose for the sake of obstruction," adding, "I believe reasonable discussions to minimize the damage to the public are essential. The era when the government could create many supervisory bodies to handle financial institutions has passed."
He also criticized President Lee Jae-myung's recent remark that sparked controversy—"Raise interest rates on high-credit borrowers to lower the interest burden on low-credit borrowers"—as showing a lack of understanding of economic principles. Chairperson Yun cited coupons at cafes or chicken restaurants as examples. He said, "Isn't it that when you become a regular and visit often, you get a 'buy 10 get 1 free' or 10% discount coupon?" adding, "You receive benefits only after frequent use builds credit, but if you are told to do the exact opposite, the economy cannot function."
He also outlined the status of discussions and handling directions between the ruling and opposition parties on National Policy Committee issues. Regarding the Online Platform Act (onplat act) and the Fair Transactions Act (fairness act), he said, "These started to minimize market harm caused by monopolies by large corporations, but they have emerged as a fuse for friction in trade negotiations with the United States, so we need to watch developments and prepare consumer protection bills."
He said it would be difficult to push ahead immediately with the onplat act or the fairness act, but that there were no differences between the ruling and opposition parties on bills related to the "gap-eul sector" between platforms and onboarded merchants. Chairperson Yun said, "Because opinions align between the ruling and opposition parties on laws related to the gap-eul sector, I believe they can be handled," adding, "To resolve information asymmetry with platforms, we are imposing obligations to keep standard transaction contracts, comply with settlement deadlines, and manage payments separately. An amendment to the Electronic Financial Transactions Act to increase stability has passed the National Policy Committee and moved to the Legislation and Judiciary Committee." He added that the bill strengthening platforms' obligation to manage payments separately needs to pass the Legislation and Judiciary Committee quickly.
However, Chairperson Yun also said that regulatory bills for platform corporations should not lead to harm for domestic corporations. He said, "Korea is almost the only country in the world with independent platform corporations," adding, "Because platform corporation regulations could end up regulating only domestic corporations and become an opening for Google and Amazon to take the domestic market, we need to find ways to protect consumers without harming domestic corporations."
On the legalization of stablecoins, he said the Financial Services Commission plans to draw up a concrete plan within this month. Chairperson Yun said, however, that safeguards are needed for issues such as increases in the money supply resulting from stablecoin issuance. He said, "In the United States, they have platforms buy Government Bonds equal to the amount of stablecoins issued so that the money supply does not increase, but we need to see whether we have that system properly in place," adding, "We also need to examine whether there will be overseas demand for a won-denominated stablecoin."
Regarding the "MBK hearing" to deal with the Homeplus situation, he stressed that finding practical solutions is more important than calling people to the National Assembly to pressure public opinion. He said, "Hearings are fine and witnesses will likely be called during the parliamentary audit, but more important is a swift prosecution investigation to quickly identify the wrongdoing."