A rider from Coupang Eats delivers food in this file photo. Courtesy of Coupang Eats

Coupang is attempting to overthrow Baedal Minjok, the country's largest online food delivery platform, by offering to deliver food for free as fewer people order food online in the post-pandemic era, according to industry officials, Tuesday.

Coupang's paid Wow membership users will no longer have to pay any delivery fees when ordering food via Coupang Eats — the e-commerce company's food delivery service — starting March 26.

The move is part of Coupang's attempt to expand its footing and rise to become a dominant market player by overtaking Baemin. According to data from Mobile Index, a market tracker, Baemin accounted for 65 percent of monthly active users (MAU) in the food delivery market in February, with second place Yogiyo coming in at 18 percent.

Coupang Eats narrowly took third place with 17 percent, but the pace of its growth is likely to see the platform surpass the runner-up soon.

Data from the market tracker showed that Coupang Eats' MAU soared by 64.7 percent last month from a year earlier, but that of Yogiyo declined by 16.6 percent during the same period.

This raises hopes for Coupang Eats to overtake Yogiyo as early as this month in terms of the number of its MAU.

Industry officials said Coupang Eats' latest decision came at an opportune time, as it can steal customers from its rivals by offering such special benefits amid the growing financial burden being experienced by customers regarding food delivery costs. Statistics Korea data showed that the average delivery fee reached around 3,000 won as of the end of last year, and some customers even paid up to 7,000 won when ordering food via mobile delivery platforms.

Motorcycles used for Baemin riders are parked in Seoul in this undated file photo. Yonhap

"It is still premature to say that Coupang Eats will be able to extend such a rapid pace in its growth for the next few years, but the free delivery decision will definitely pose a growing threat to Baemin, as Coupang boasts its loyal customer base from the Wow membership," an official from a retail firm said.

According to data from Coupang, the number of its Wow membership users is on a sharp rise — to more than 14 million as of the end of 2023. The figure hovered around nine million as of 2021.

A spokesperson at Baemin declined to comment on Coupang's move.

"We do not have any official comments as to the decision by a competitor," the official said.

Coupang Eats said it decided to stop charging delivery fees for its paid subscribers to ease their financial and inflationary burden.

"The delivery cost was a major hurdle for customers when they order food," a Coupang Eats said. "But they will no longer be able to face the burden following our decision. Food business operators will also not have to charge any costs for the free delivery service, so they are also widely expected to increase their sales without any additional burden."