During Untact Holidays, 'Delivery Food'... Who Pays the Delivery Fee?

Glossary of Terms Related to Food Order Delivery

#. Office worker Kim Kyung-gi (alias) is spending this year's Chuseok holiday as an 'untact holiday' without going down to his hometown. The problem was preparing food alone during the holiday period. However, Kim solved his worries through the delivery application (app) he usually uses. This is because there were plenty of restaurants that delivered normally even during the holiday.

#. Housewife Jung Yu-mi (alias) was worried about preparing food for the Charye ceremony this Chuseok. With the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), she was already refraining from outdoor activities, and going to crowded markets or marts felt uneasy. What eased her worries was a delivery app that also provides delivery services from traditional market stores. She was able to prepare all the foods for the Charye table, such as jeon, rice cakes, and fruits, all at once.

This year's Chuseok holiday saw many people spending it as an untact holiday due to concerns over the spread of COVID-19, which in turn greatly increased the demand for delivery food. Along with this, interest in the delivery industry also rose. However, when looking into the delivery process, there are quite a few things that are not clearly understood even though they are usually overlooked. Although orders are placed through delivery apps, the parties responsible for delivery vary, and terms such as delivery tip, delivery fee, and delivery agency fee can be confusing in terms of their differences. How exactly does ordering food through convenient delivery apps work?

According to Woowa Brothers, the operator of Baedal Minjok (Baemin), the delivery business begins with food orders through delivery order apps (platforms). In Korea, there are Baemin, Yogiyo, Coupang Eats, Wemakeprice O, Baedaltong, Ddingdong, and others. These apps function as intermediaries connecting food orders to restaurants. The role of actually transporting the orders from the app to the customer's home is handled by delivery agency companies. Companies such as Saenggakdaero, Barogo, and Vroong fall into this category. Delivery workers who contract with these delivery agencies and work as self-employed individuals pick up food from the stores and deliver it to the consumers. Some restaurants do not entrust delivery to agencies but hire delivery workers directly. Some delivery order platforms like Baemin, Yogiyo, and Coupang Eats also provide services that handle delivery themselves. In Baemin's case, the service that supplies delivery workers is called 'Baemin Riders.' Baemin Riders orders account for about 3 to 5% of all Baemin orders.

Then, who pays the delivery fee that the delivery worker receives after completing the delivery? The delivery fee consists of amounts borne separately by the customer and the restaurant owner. Among these, the cost paid by the consumer is called a delivery tip in Baemin's case. When ordering a whole chicken through the Baemin app, the consumer's burden is displayed as a 'delivery tip' of about 2,000 to 3,000 won depending on the distance. Although the terms used by platform companies to refer to the delivery fee paid by consumers differ, this amount alone is not enough for the delivery worker to bring the chicken to the house. Restaurant owners pay a certain amount of delivery agency fees per order to the delivery agency companies that handle their delivery efforts. The delivery fee received by the delivery worker is the sum of the delivery agency fee paid by the restaurant owner and the delivery tip paid by the consumer. The delivery fee is determined by the delivery agency company performing the delivery, and the amount the consumer pays is set according to how much the restaurant owner agrees to bear.

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