FTC chief vows to lower online food delivery fees for small businesses

Fair Trade Commission Chairman Ju Byung-ki has pledged to reduce online food delivery app fees for small businesses, responding to calls from self-employed vendors for a fee cap.

Ju made the remarks Tuesday after presenting the FTC's key policy agenda for the second half of 2026 at Cheong Wa Dae's banquet hall. "As long as the cap is not set excessively low, this is something that can be done under existing law," he said, adding that the commission would work to ensure smaller merchants pay lower delivery app fees.

Ju said the online food delivery market had become far more monopolized than typical offline markets, and that public delivery app alternatives could not compete in terms of consumer reach or merchant networks.

He added that South Korea's delivery app fee rates were above average compared with developed countries — neither the highest nor the lowest — and that platforms were enjoying operating profit margins of more than 10 percent, particularly because of the large supply of merchants on their platforms.

"A much lower fee rate is the competitive order that is desirable," Ju added.