Baedal Minjok "Fee Structure Change Reversed... Apology for New Fee Plan Controversy"

Complete Reversal of the 'Open Service' Introduced on the 1st

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] Woowa Brothers, the operator of the food delivery application (hereinafter referred to as the app) 'Baedal Minjok,' issued an official apology on the 10th under the joint names of Chairman Kim Bong-jin and CEO Kim Beom-jun regarding the fee system reform. They decided to completely cancel the fee system changes, including the 'Open Service' introduced on the 1st, and return to the previous system. Furthermore, they announced plans to form a consultative body with partner merchants to decide on major policy changes going forward.

Chairman Kim Bong-jin and CEO Kim Beom-jun of Woowa Brothers released an apology statement saying, "We failed to carefully consider the difficulties faced by restaurant owners and caused much confusion and burden by introducing the new fee system. We deeply apologize once again with a heavy heart to the disheartened and disappointed restaurant owners and the public."

Woowa Brothers explained that after receiving many pieces of advice from restaurant owners, related organizations, and various sectors following the fee system reform, there was a unanimous opinion that 'it would be better to reconsider from the starting point,' and there were also criticisms that fee system reform without sufficient consultation was inappropriate amid the worsening difficulties of self-employed people due to the spread of COVID-19. Woowa Brothers accepted this and decided to completely cancel the 'Open Service' system introduced on the 1st of this month and return to the previous system. They plan to mobilize all technical capabilities to revert to the previous method as soon as possible.

Chairman Kim and CEO Kim said, "Through this incident, we once again felt the weight of social responsibility," and added, "We will decide on major policy changes through continuous communication with partner merchants." To this end, Woowa Brothers plans to establish a consultative body as a communication channel with merchants. They will also collaborate with government ministries and experts from various fields.

Chairman Kim and CEO Kim stated, "Restaurant owners and Baedal Minjok are a community of shared destiny," and said, "We will do our best to increase orders to restaurants through the app, ensure stable income for riders, and allow users to enjoy good food wherever they want."

Below is the full text of the apology.

Dear restaurant owners and users of Baedal Minjok,

This is Chairman Kim Bong-jin and CEO Kim Beom-jun of Woowa Brothers.

We failed to carefully consider the difficulties of restaurant owners and caused confusion and burden to many by introducing the new fee system.

We deeply apologize once again with a heavy heart to the disheartened and disappointed restaurant owners and the public.

After the fee system reform, we received many pieces of advice and criticism from restaurant owners, related organizations, and various sectors. The unanimous opinion was that 'it would be better to reconsider from the starting point.' Moreover, there were comments that fee system reform without sufficient consultation is unacceptable amid the worsening difficulties of self-employed people due to the spread of COVID-19.

We humbly accept these criticisms and the reproaches from merchants with deep reflection.

Accordingly, we will completely cancel the Open Service system introduced on April 1 and return to the previous system. We will mobilize all technical capabilities to revert to the previous method as soon as possible.

Through this incident, Woowa Brothers once again felt the weight of social responsibility required of us.

Going forward, major policy changes will be decided through continuous communication with partner merchants. To this end, we will establish a consultative body as a communication channel with merchants. We will also collaborate with government ministries and experts from various fields.

We believe that restaurant owners and Baedal Minjok are a community of shared destiny. Through our app, orders to restaurants will increase, riders will enjoy stable income, and users will be able to enjoy good food wherever they want. We will do our best to achieve this.

We promise to become a platform that everyone can support through relentless efforts.

Once again, we deeply bow and apologize to everyone who experienced inconvenience.

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