Promotion arrives as questions swirl around Baemin's potential sale Coupang Eats app on a smartphone (Coupang) Coupang Eats' decision to temporarily extend free delivery to non-paying users has met with considerable pushback, with critics warning that small merchants will ultimately foot the bill.The company announced Thursday that general users would receive free delivery on every order through August, opening up a benefit previously reserved for subscribers to Coupang's Wow membership program.Coupang Eats framed the campaign as a response to elevated inflation and fuel prices, and as a way to help restaurants boost business during the summer season."Customers can reduce their cost-of-living burden, while partner merchants will have opportunities to expand sales without incurring additional expenses," the company said.Political and civic groups, however, accused the platform of disguising a market share grab as consumer relief.The Democratic Party of Korea's Euljiro Committee dismissed free delivery as "nothing more than a membership acquisition promotion by a platform operator," arguing that the costs would ultimately be passed on to merchants and consumers.Five small business organizations, including the Korea Merchant Association and the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprises, issued a joint statement Friday warning that the policy would subordinate consumers to platforms and fundamentally undermine the self-reliance of small business owners."Platform companies have historically passed marketing costs onto merchants through higher commissions, advertising fees and reduced exposure," the groups said in a statement.Coupang Eats pushed back, insisting the promotion places no additional burden on merchants."The promotion was introduced to support consumption and help revitalize the restaurant industry during a period of high inflation and fuel prices," the company explained. "All delivery costs related to the promotion are fully covered by Coupang Eats, and merchants incur no additional expenses whatsoever."The company cited internal data showing that, after earlier free delivery initiatives, merchants' per-order costs fell roughly 5 percent over the following year, while average sales per participating store rose 98 percent on-year.The promotion comes as the Korea Fair Trade Commission is expected to examine allegations in the coming months that the company bundled delivery and streaming services into its Wow membership program and pressured merchants to offer the same or lower prices than rival platforms.The move coincides with growing speculation over the fate of rival delivery app Baemin as its German parent Delivery Hero reportedly considers selling Korean operator Woowa Brothers, potentially giving Coupang Eats greater scope for expansion as competition in Korea’s delivery market intensifies.Delivery Hero could offload the platform to a consortium formed by Uber and Naver, though no deal has been confirmed, industry sources said. Uber recently emerged as Delivery Hero's largest shareholder after lifting its stake from around 7 percent to 19.5 percent of issued capital and securing options to acquire a further 5.6 percent.