A coalition of Coupang Eats merchants in Seoul’s Mapo and Gangnam districts filed a joint statement Wednesday opposing city-backed language that would cap total platform charges—including brokerage, payment, and rider fees—at 15 percent of menu price. The group argues the cap, still circulating in metropolitan council working papers, ignores the tiered “win-win” commission schedule Coupang Eats implemented in April and would push platforms to recover margin by trimming delivery subsidies riders rely on during Chuseok surcharges.
What merchants say they were promised
Coupang Eats lowered its headline brokerage rate from 9.8 percent to a band between 2 percent and 7.8 percent based on monthly store sales, part of a tripartite accord with the government and rival apps Baedal Minjok and Yogiyo. Merchants in the bottom two-thirds of sales tiers reported saving up to 1,950 won on a 25,000-won order when receipts began itemizing platform and delivery lines. The new transparency, mandated after the agreement, is what owners now wave at council staff: they claim a blunt 15 percent cap would treat all fees as fungible, erasing the progressive design meant to protect smaller kitchens.
Jihoon Kim’s reporting from shop visits near Hongdae found owners still paying composite costs near 30 percent once rider dispatch and payment processing are included—exactly the pain point President Lee Jae-myung’s campaign targeted. Yet the merchants’ association behind Wednesday’s pushback is not defending the old 9.8 percent era; they want Seoul to defer action until national social dialogue finishes in the Democratic Party’s Euljiro Committee track, where franchise groups and rider unions remain split.
Seoul’s ordinance lane
Metropolitan council aides confirmed a draft amendment to local fair-trade rules could be introduced after Chuseok, empowering the city to fine platforms that exceed the 15 percent all-in threshold on orders originating inside Seoul. Legal counsel for Coupang Eats told merchant representatives that a municipal rule may conflict with pending national bills debating whether caps belong in the Platform Act or the Food Service Industry Promotion Act—disagreement that has stalled central legislation since July.
Restaurant owners worry about forum shopping: if Seoul moves first, platforms might reclassify fees as “marketing services” billed outside the cap, shifting burden back to owners who lack legal staff. Coupang Eats reiterated in a letter that its tiered plan already meets the spirit of relief for low-volume stores and asked merchants to channel grievances through the company’s partner hotline rather than city hall.
Riders left out of the room
Delivery partners organized under the National Delivery Partners’ Association warned that commission cuts without rider seat at the table could shrink per-drop fees. That fracture surfaced when riders publicly opposed a blanket cap earlier this summer, arguing platforms cross-subsidize dispatch from brokerage pools. Merchant leaders in Seoul acknowledged the tension but said owners cannot absorb another Chuseok peak without enforceable limits.
Fair Trade Commission officials, overseeing platform market power nationally, have increased investigative headcount this year but have not endorsed Seoul’s numeric cap. FTC staff told industry groups that any ceiling must define which fees count, how refunds work, and whether promotional coupons are included—details absent from the metropolitan draft merchants reviewed.
What changes before holiday orders spike
Coupang Eats plans a merchant webinar next week on receipt breakdowns and dispute escalation, a move owners dismiss as public relations ahead of council hearings. The merchant coalition wants a delayed vote until November, after Chuseok delivery volumes provide real receipt data under the tiered system.
Independent accountants hired by a Mapo merchants’ cooperative said they will publish a Chuseok-week sample of 200 anonymized receipts comparing tiered brokerage lines against total platform charges, giving councillors hard numbers if hearings resume in October.
For investors, the fight is margin defense in Korea’s second-largest food delivery app by monthly active users. For kitchen staff, it is whether holiday jokbal and fried chicken orders arrive with any profit left after the bag leaves the pass. Seoul’s cap push and merchant pushback set up a localized test of how far cities can move before national platform law catches up.
