[Edaily Reporter Han Jeon-jin ] The retail industry came under fire during the National Assembly’s parliamentary audit, facing criticism ranging from allegations of anti-competitive practices by food delivery apps to controversies over “toll fees” in convenience store supply chains, and the harm caused to suppliers following ENPLUS’s restructuring. In response to demands to reduce the burden on store owners and suppliers and improve business practices, companies offered explanations along with plans for internal reviews, compensation for damages, and measures to restore normal operations.

At the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee hearing on the Fair Trade Commission held on the 12th, Kim Yong-seok, Vice President of Woowa Brothers; Ju Seong-won, Executive Vice President of Coupang; Cho Ju-yeon, CEO of Homeplus; and Oh Jin-seok, Vice President of GS Retail(007070), appeared as witnesses.

Regarding food delivery apps, the key issues were the choice available to partner merchants and transaction transparency. Rep. Son Myeong-su of the Democratic Party of Korea argued that although Baemin changed its “Baemin Only” policy to “Promotion Only” following the Fair Trade Commission’s investigation, it continues to maintain a structure that restricts discount promotions by competing apps. He pointed out that if discounts—even those funded by partner merchants—are restricted based on contract language, consumers could be driven toward Baemin.

Vice President Kim explained that these were temporary promotional support measures agreed upon for mutual benefit. Fair Trade Commission Chairman Joo Byung-ki responded that it must be determined whether franchisees were forced to refrain from choosing other delivery apps, adding, “It appears there is a possibility of that.”

Regarding Baemin’s transfer of funds to its parent company through the repurchase and cancellation of its own shares, Rep. Kim Jae-seop of the People Power Party raised suspicions of tax evasion. Vice President Kim stated that the company would cooperate fully with any related investigations and measures taken by tax authorities. Furthermore, regarding the issue of integrated dispatch notifications for “One-House Delivery” and “Budget Delivery”—pointed out by Rep. Han Min-soo of the Democratic Party of Korea—he acknowledged that “the announcement was made too late” and pledged to correct the issue to prevent consumer confusion.

Coupang faced a series of questions regarding its response to the Fair Trade Commission’s investigation and compensation for service disruptions. Lee Kang-il, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea, questioned the company’s decision to pursue additional legal action even after its motion for a stay of execution regarding the on-site investigation had been rejected. Vice President Ju explained that this was part of the process of exercising the company’s procedural rights.

Rep. Lee also pointed out that the compensation plan for the service outage on the 9th was limited to orders placed before the outage and demanded measures to address sales losses for merchants and income reductions for delivery drivers. Vice President Ju apologized and responded that the company had prepared compensation plans tailored to each category, agreeing to submit relevant materials. Regarding the Fair Delivery Platform Act, he stated that the company would participate in discussions cautiously but did not clearly express a position for or against the commission cap system.

Criticism that profits going to store owners and partner companies were shrinking also extended to the convenience store supply chain. One lawmaker raised suspicions that GS25 generated unnecessary margins by going through specific vendors (intermediaries) even though it could have dealt directly with manufacturers. According to data from the lawmaker’s office, Hanbyeol—cited as an example—is a company with only three employees, yet its transaction volume with GS Retail over the past five years reached 17 billion won.

Vice President Oh responded that he would look into what internal issues might exist. Chairman Joo stated that if vendors were used to impose unfavorable terms, there could be a potential violation of the law, and that the relevant transaction structure needed to be examined.

At Homeplus, the focus was on the impact of the restructuring process on employees and business partners, as well as the company’s capacity to provide support. Rep. Min Byeong-deok of the Democratic Party of Korea took issue with the voluntary retirement terms, noting that—unlike in the past—the company was paying only unpaid wages and severance pay without offering separate consolation payments. When Rep. Seo Il-jun of the People Power Party asked about additional support for tenant businesses affected by the temporary closure, CEO Cho replied, “We currently lack the financial capacity to do so.”

CEO Cho explained that although the company had secured 200 billion won in emergency operating funds, ongoing advance payments and cash transactions were limiting the recovery of inventory and sales. While pushing ahead with the sale of company-owned stores to repay debts, he added, “Ultimately, we believe the current situation can only be properly resolved if the M&A proceeds as planned.”