Korea Rejects Delivery Apps' 360 Billion Won Settlement Offers, Sets Up Fine Showdown

South Korea's Fair Trade Commission rejected consent decree requests from Woowa Brothers, operator of Baemin, and Coupang after they offered combined support packages worth 360 billion won to avoid penalties. The FTC said the cases, involving most-favored-nation demands, favoritism toward Baemin Delivery, unfair estimated delivery time advertising, and Coupang's linkage of Wow Membership with Coupang Eats, were too serious to close without formal findings because they affected many consumers and partner businesses.

The companies' proposed measures, including Woowa's 300 billion won three-year plan and Coupang's 60 billion won four-year plan, were judged insufficient to restore competition and relieve harmed businesses. The FTC said some measures overlapped with existing promotions or benefited new merchants who were unlikely to have been harmed. The cases now move to formal review, with the FTC planning to reach conclusions this year.

Potential penalties remain substantial: Baemin faces estimated fines of 239 billion to 510 billion won, while Coupang faces 25 billion to 42 billion won for its most-favored-nation case and up to about 210 billion won for the separate "tying" case involving Wow Membership and Coupang Eats. Woowa called the rejection regrettable and said practical support for small businesses was more urgent, while Coupang said it would explain its position in the review process.

(Source：서울경제)