Delivery Apps Benefit from Consumption Coupons, but Neglect Coexistence with Small Businesses?

Kim Won: "Urgent Need for System Improvements to Ease the Burden on Small Business Owners"

Representative Kim Won appeals to point out the problems of the Livelihood Recovery Consumption Coupon and requests improvements.

The Livelihood Recovery Consumption Coupon introduced by the Lee Jaemyung administration has proven effective in boosting domestic demand. However, there are growing criticisms that delivery app companies, which have seen increased sales as a result, are not actively contributing to the coexistence with small business owners.

The consumption coupons, distributed since July 21, can only be used at small businesses with annual sales of 3 billion won or less, and are not applicable to online shopping malls or in-app payments on delivery apps. However, by using the "meet and pay" feature on delivery apps, customers can still use the consumption coupons.

Baemin (Baedal Minjok) has heavily promoted this service since the implementation of the consumption coupon, and it has been reported that the number of orders has increased more than threefold compared to before.

The commission fee for Baemin's "meet and pay" service is 6.8%. For a payment of 30,000 won, 2,040 won is taken as a fee, meaning that if a large volume of payments is made using the consumption coupons, Baemin's commission income is expected to be substantial.

However, the burden on small business owners remains. Franchise owners must bear up to 7.8% in commission fees, a delivery fee of 1,900 to 3,400 won per order, and additional advertising costs. Moreover, since April, Baemin has also imposed a 6.8% commission fee on takeout services, leading to continued backlash.

Kim Won, a member of the National Assembly from the Democratic Party of Korea (Secretary of the Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs, and Startups Committee, representing Mokpo), stated, "Delivery apps that have benefited from government policy are actually worsening store management conditions," and stressed, "There is a need to improve the system by applying preferential commission rates for small business owners and reducing the transfer of delivery fees."

Assemblyman Kim recently sponsored an amendment to the Small Business Protection Act, which reasonably sets a cap on delivery app service fees within the scope of presidential decrees and applies preferential rates to small businesses below a certain size.