This article was published on the ChosunBiz RM Report website at 9:43 a.m. on Nov. 17, 2025.
The Fair Trade Commission has completed an investigation into allegations that Woowa Brothers, which operates Baemin, the No. 1 delivery app, engaged in unfair practices, and on the 17th delivered a review report detailing its findings. After Woowa Brothers submits its opinion on the review report, the commission will examine it and decide whether to impose sanctions and at what level.
The Baemin app applies two delivery methods. One is the "Baemin delivery" method, in which franchise stores use Baemin riders and pay fees to Baemin. The other is the "store delivery" method, in which franchise stores deliver food using their own couriers or riders from companies other than Baemin.
The Fair Trade Commission believes Baemin engaged in self-preferencing by overhauling its system in a way that made store delivery relatively disadvantageous and pushed users to choose Baemin delivery more often. To that end, the commission says Baemin abolished Ultra Call (a low-priced flat-rate plan). By eliminating the low-priced flat-rate Ultra Call, Baemin increased the expense burden of the store delivery method, effectively inducing franchise stores to shift to the Baemin delivery method.
The commission also sees problems with changes to the Baemin app's ordering flow. Originally, users chose either store delivery or Baemin delivery first, and then selected a restaurant. But after the app was revamped, users first picked a restaurant and then chose the delivery method. During this step, Baemin delivery is displayed more prominently with phrases such as "fastest delivery," putting store delivery at a disadvantage.
Accordingly, the commission applied allegations that Baemin, as a market-dominant business, engaged in unfair trade practices by unjustly excluding competitors (abuse of market dominance and unfair trade practices).
Earlier, in Oct., the commission also delivered a review report to Baemin on separate allegations. It presented findings on suspected violations of the Act on Fair Labeling and Advertising for showing shorter-than-actual estimated times for "single-order delivery" and "thrifty delivery." At the time, the commission also conveyed findings to Coupang Eats regarding allegations including tying. An industry official said, "The commission is conducting an all-out probe into the delivery app industry."