Discussion on alleviating the burden on small business owners according to the
"Comprehensive Measures for Small Business Owners and Self-Employed"
On Tuesday, July 23, at 2:00 PM, the launch ceremony for the "Delivery Platform-Partner Business Win-Win Council" (hereinafter referred to as the "Win-Win Council") was held in Room 204 of the Government Seoul Office Annex.
The launch of the Win-Win Council is part of the "Comprehensive Measures for Small Business Owners and Self-Employed" announced by the government on July 3. The Win-Win Council is designed to bring together delivery platforms and partner businesses (hereinafter referred to as "partner businesses") to come up with reasonable ways to alleviate the burden on partner businesses.
Currently, numerous partner businesses are finding it difficult to continue operating and feel a significant burden from using delivery platforms. In fact, a large proportion of food businesses are small-scale operations, and the overall debt among small business owners has significantly increased, with a rise in closure rates due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Partner businesses in particular perceive that the food delivery market situation has worsened in 2023 compared to the period of increased non-face-to-face transactions, and they also feel that the delivery fees are excessive.
Therefore, relevant ministries shared the recognition that it is necessary to alleviate the burden on partner businesses using delivery platforms and decided to establish the Win-Win Council where delivery platforms and partner businesses can sit together to explore win-win solutions.
Composition and Operation of the Win-Win Council
The Win-Win Council consists of four major delivery platform operators and four associations/organizations representing partner businesses, with a total of 16 members. These members are equally divided among major delivery platforms, partner businesses, public interest representatives, and special committee members.
Public interest representatives are experts related to small business, dining, and consumer sectors, and they play the role of presenting mediating opinions to ensure productive discussions when coordination of positions between delivery platforms and partner businesses is necessary.
Professor Lee Jung-hee (Department of Economics, Chung-Ang University) has been appointed as the chairman and public interest representative of the Win-Win Council. Other public interest representatives include Lee Jung-soo (Secretary General, Korea Consumer Association), Lee Dong-joo (Deputy Director, Korea Small Business Institute), and Professor Jeong Yoo-kyung (Department of Hotel, Tourism, and Culinary Management, Sejong University).
Relevant ministries will participate as special committee members to support the discussion process of the Win-Win Council.
The Secretary General of the Korea Fair Trade Commission has been appointed as the secretary and special committee member, with other special committee members including the Director General of Policy Coordination at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Director General of Food Industry Policy at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and the Director General of Cooperation Policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.
The Win-Win Council will operate prioritizing agreements between delivery platforms and partner businesses, and public interest representatives will mediate discussions when necessary. The discussion agenda will be proposed by partner businesses, and delivery platforms will discuss these issues with them. If there is a significant difference in opinions between delivery platforms and partner businesses, the public interest representatives will present mediation proposals after listening to both sides.
Discussion at the Launch Ceremony and Future Plans
At the launch ceremony, there was a free discussion on the operational plan of the Win-Win Council and various issues proposed by the four associations/organizations before the council's launch. These issues include measures to alleviate burdens such as fees, enhancing transparency of fees, improving unfair practices, promoting public delivery apps, establishing institutional measures, and resolving other difficulties.
Chairman Lee Jung-hee of the Win-Win Council stated at the launch ceremony, "We feel a heavy responsibility due to the social interest surrounding delivery platforms and the high burden on partner businesses." He pledged to do his best to ensure that reasonable win-win solutions are developed from a neutral standpoint through the Win-Win Council.
Nam Dong-il, Secretary General of the Korea Fair Trade Commission, expressed his hope that the Win-Win Council would be "the first step towards finding solutions where all stakeholders in the delivery market can come together to achieve a win-win outcome," noting the increasing voices of concern among small business owners regarding delivery platforms that were once loved by the public.
The Win-Win Council aims to resolve the difficulties of partner businesses as quickly as possible and strives to produce results by October. To enhance the intensity of discussions within a short period, the government plans to facilitate frequent meetings between delivery platforms and partner businesses.
Through the launch ceremony, the government listened to the hopes, concerns, and opinions on the operation of the Win-Win Council from private stakeholders. It expressed its commitment to actively support the discussion process so that reasonable burden alleviation measures for partner businesses can be derived through the Win-Win Council.