South Korea's antitrust regulator has imposed record provisional fines totalling 631.9 billion won on the operators of the country's two dominant food delivery apps, Baemin and Coupang Eats, after finding that they restricted competition through pricing rules imposed on restaurants.

The Fair Trade Commission said on Monday, 9 November, that Woowa Brothers, which operates Baemin, faces a fine of 331.1 billion won, while Coupang, which operates Coupang Eats, faces a fine of 300.8 billion won. The combined penalty, worth about $464 million, is the largest ever imposed on food delivery platforms in South Korea.

What the regulator found

The commission said both companies used so-called most-favoured-nation terms, requiring partner restaurants to offer prices and other conditions at least as favourable as those available on competing platforms. It said the practice undermined competition, pushed up food prices and made it harder for smaller delivery platforms to enter the market.

According to the regulator, Coupang enforced the requirements from July 2023 to January 2026. Baemin's matching requirements ran from May 2024 to October 2025. The two apps together controlled 92.89 per cent of South Korea's food delivery market by transaction value in 2025, with Baemin holding 58.45 per cent and Coupang Eats 34.44 per cent.

The commission said Coupang stripped restaurants that refused to match rival terms of access to Wow Stores, the storefront reserved for benefits linked to its paid membership. It said the pressure left many small restaurants with little choice but to accept the terms, because the two apps are the main way many customers order food.

Companies dispute the decision

Both companies have disputed the findings. Coupang said it would fully present its position through the appropriate legal channels, and both companies said they would review the written decision before deciding whether to take legal action. The fines are provisional and remain subject to final determination by the commission, which voted on the corrective orders and fines at a full-commission meeting on 29 October.

Coupang has argued that the sales figure used to calculate its fine grew sharply from the figure in an earlier review report, and that the penalty is far higher than it had expected. The regulator also ordered a re-examination of a separate case involving Coupang's alleged tying of delivery and streaming services to its Wow membership programme.

Why the case matters

The decision is the latest sign of tougher scrutiny of large online platforms in South Korea, where food delivery apps have become a central part of everyday life and a key sales channel for small restaurants. The outcome will be watched closely by other platform operators, restaurant owners and regulators in the region, as governments weigh how to balance competition rules with the growth of digital marketplaces.

For restaurants, the ruling could change how they set prices across different apps, if the corrective orders stand. For customers, the regulator's argument is that freer competition should, over time, help keep food prices and delivery charges in check. The final written decision, and any court challenge that follows, will determine whether the record fines are confirmed in full.