Lee Jae-myung, Critic of 'Baedal Minjok', to Learn Delivery Expertise from Gunsan's 'Baedal Myeongsu'

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province has decided to share the know-how of Gunsan City's public delivery app 'Baedal-ui Myeongsu' (Master of Delivery).

On the 9th, Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung and Gunsan City Mayor Kang Im-jun signed a 'Technical Advisory and Free Trademark Use Agreement for the Public Delivery App Baedal-ui Myeongsu' at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Situation Room in Suwon.

In his greeting, Governor Lee criticized, "Corporate activities should be carried out in a way that promotes technological innovation or benefits for all, but distorting market order from a monopolistic position, exploiting socially and economically vulnerable groups, and gaining unfair profits is neither technological innovation nor the Fourth Industrial Revolution."

He added, "The most desirable thing is to enable the private sector to compete rationally without exploitation or unfair profits," and said, "I believe the public delivery app 'Baedal-ui Myeongsu' will become a new starting point for innovation in Korea's delivery market."

Governor Lee especially explained the direction of the initiative, saying, "Gyeonggi Province will invest in public infrastructure and capabilities such as the already established local currency distribution network, data, and technology, while leaving app development and operation to the private sector, combining the strengths of both private and public sectors."

'Baedal-ui Myeongsu' has the advantage of no commission or advertising fees, reducing the burden on small business owners, and users can also receive about a 10% discount when paying with local currency, making it a rising alternative to monopolistic private delivery apps recently.

According to the agreement, the two institutions will form a working-level consultative body to transfer the technology of Gunsan City's public delivery app 'Baedal-ui Myeongsu' to Gyeonggi Province and its 31 cities and counties, and establish a close cooperative system to allow free use of the trademark.

They also agreed to actively assist other metropolitan local governments wishing to introduce the 'Baedal-ui Myeongsu' app by providing related technical advice and free trademark use.

Based on this agreement, the province plans to develop a Gyeonggi Province-type public delivery app, entrust its operation to social enterprises, and significantly enhance public nature by organizing riders (delivery workers) and supporting their social safety net.

Earlier, Governor Lee announced on social media on the 4th that Gyeonggi Province would establish countermeasures after Baedal Minjok (Baemin) changed its commission charging system from a fixed amount to a fixed rate starting from the 1st of this month.

This is because, unlike the 'fixed amount' system which has a limit on the amount, the introduction of the 'fixed rate' system, where commissions increase according to sales volume, could impose a considerable burden on small business owners.

Accordingly, on the 6th, the province held a 'Countermeasure Meeting on Delivery App Monopoly and Unfair Trade,' forming a 'Public Delivery App Development Public-Private Joint Task Force' involving Gyeonggi Province Corporation, private experts, related affiliated organizations, and departments.

They also decided to request the Fair Trade Commission, which has direct authority over monopoly issues, to consider negative aspects such as monopoly during the corporate merger review process of Baedal Minjok.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.