South Korea’s top antitrust regulator has levied a massive combined fine of 631.9 billion won (approximately $450 million) against the country’s leading food delivery platforms, Baedal Minjok and Coupang Eats, for forcing restaurants into anti-competitive pricing and exclusive trade terms.

The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) revealed on Monday that it has issued corrective mandates along with preliminary fines—331.9 billion won for Woowa Brothers (operator of Baedal Minjok) and 300.8 billion won for Coupang (operator of Coupang Eats). This landmark ruling represents the first time the FTC has penalized delivery app operators for abusing a dominant market position.

According to the regulatory body, both platforms engaged in "most-favored-nation" (MFN) coercion. They pressured food merchants into matching or offering more favorable pricing and transaction conditions exclusively on their apps compared to rival services. The FTC noted that these unfair stipulations stifled cross-platform competition and inflated consumer food prices.

Merchants faced severe penalties if they failed to comply. Baedal Minjok restricted its coveted "Baemin Club Store" status—crucial for high visibility—to restaurants adhering strictly to its terms on menu pricing, discounts, and minimum order requirements. Coupang Eats enforced a similar policy for its "Wow Store" designation, demanding that restaurants submit to parallel MFN clauses covering operating hours, menu selections, delivery fees borne by customers, and promotional discounts.

Beyond MFN enforcement, the FTC penalized Baedal Minjok for strong-arming stores into using its proprietary delivery service instead of self-delivery, alongside deceptive practices that deliberately miscalculated and exaggerated delivery times for non-platform delivery methods.

Coupang Eats also faced scrutiny over its fee-calculation structure. The platform calculated its brokerage fees based on the pre-discount menu price rather than the actual amount paid by consumers, effectively forcing vendors to pay commissions on discounts they funded out of their own pockets—a violation of consumer protection and standard contract regulations.

The FTC stated that these anti-competitive maneuvers hampered rival startups from expanding, suppressed fee competition, and unjustly shifted the financial burden of market-share battles onto small business owners.

The illicit practices spanned multiple periods: 17 months for Baedal Minjok (May 2024 to October 2025) and 31 months for Coupang Eats (July 2023 to January 2026). During the penalty assessment, Coupang’s fines were escalated by 20% due to prior regulatory infractions, while Baemin saw a 20% reduction for cooperating with investigators.

Prior to the penalties, both companies attempted to settle via consent decrees—proposing mutual growth packages valued at 300 billion won and 60 billion won respectively—but the FTC ultimately rejected the settlement bids.

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]