Terms-of-service revision to exempt food price and delivery tip discounts from commission calculations

Fees to be charged on post-discount amounts, easing burden on restaurant partners

CEO Kim Beom-seok cites mutual benefit for partners and customers

An exterior view of Woowa Brothers' headquarters. [Provided by Woowa Brothers]
An exterior view of Woowa Brothers' headquarters. [Provided by Woowa Brothers]

Baemin has decided to stop charging platform fees on discounts offered by its restaurant partners. Combined with existing exemptions on food price discounts, the move is expected to generate annual savings of 110 billion won ($81.9 million) for partners, including amounts already excluded under the previous food discount policy.

Woowa Brothers, which operates Baemin, announced Wednesday that it plans to revise the terms of service for its delivery platform. Under the updated terms, all discounts borne by partners — including food price discounts and delivery tip discounts — will be excluded from the calculation of brokerage and payment settlement fees.

Baemin had already excluded food price discounts from its brokerage and payment settlement fee calculations. In May last year, it also built a system to verify the portion of franchise discount coupons paid by individual store owners, ensuring those amounts were not subject to additional fees.

The latest revision reflects a request from small-business owners in the food service industry, who had asked during consultations that delivery tip discounts also be excluded from fee calculations.

An image illustrating the mutual benefit effect of Baemin's fee waiver policy. [Provided by Woowa Brothers]
An image illustrating the mutual benefit effect of Baemin's fee waiver policy. [Provided by Woowa Brothers]

Since July this year, Baemin has offered an integrated discount feature designed to make it easier for partners to invest in delivery tip discounts, which help attract more orders. In practice, stores that participated in the integrated discount saw monthly sales rise by an average of more than 200,000 won compared with the previous year, outperforming stores that kept the old system. With fees now calculated on post-discount amounts, partners will be able to use delivery tip discounts to drive sales without the added fee burden.

For example, if a partner offers a 3,000-won discount on a 25,000-won order, Baemin will calculate brokerage and settlement fees only on the remaining 22,000 won, regardless of the type of discount applied. Woowa Brothers said that for a partner handling 30 deliveries a day, forgoing such deductions would have cost more than 290,000 won a month — or nearly 3.5 million won a year.

Based on Baemin's internal data, Woowa Brothers estimates the total annual fee savings across all partners will reach 110 billion won, including amounts already deducted under the existing food price discount policy. The company also expects the reduced fee burden on delivery tip discounts to encourage partners to offer more promotions, ultimately giving customers access to greater savings.

Baemin Riders delivery service. [Provided by Woowa Brothers]
Baemin Riders delivery service. [Provided by Woowa Brothers]

"This revision to our terms of service further strengthens our operating principle of deducting partner-funded discounts from platform fee settlements," said Kim Beom-seok, chief executive of Woowa Brothers. "We will consistently pursue practical measures that ease the burden on our partners and translate into real benefits for customers."


ko@heraldcorp.com