New Member Coupon Triggers Account Deletion and Re-registration 'Loophole'
"Ordered Chicken 10 Times for 7,000 Won" Proof Posts Emerge
Even Coupon Reselling Reported
Baemin: "No Damage to Store Owners, Measures in Place"
When the food delivery platform Baedal Minjok (Baemin) distributed a 15,000 won discount coupon for chicken franchises to new members, a so-called "unlimited order loophole" quickly spread online, where users repeatedly deleted and re-registered their accounts to effectively receive unlimited coupons. Social networking services (SNS) and online communities were flooded with reviews such as, "I ordered chicken 10 times for just 7,000 won."
New Member Discount Coupon Leads to Repeated Account Deletion and Re-registration 'Loophole'
Netizens posted verification photos claiming they placed 10 delivery orders totaling 7,000 won from a specific chicken brand through Baemin. Screenshot from an online community.
Recently, Baemin distributed 15,000 won discount coupons for chicken brands such as BBQ and Cheogajip Yangnyeom Chicken to new platform members. At stores where the minimum order amount is 16,000 won, users could order 16,000 won worth of food and apply the 15,000 won coupon, effectively getting their meal for just 1,000 won. As it became known that this event could be repeatedly exploited by deleting and re-registering accounts, there was a surge in cases of users ordering large quantities of chicken and cola using the coupon. Even if a whole chicken cost more than 20,000 won, users could reach the 16,000 won minimum by ordering half a chicken and other side dishes.
The rumor that people could have chicken and cola delivered for almost free began to spread rapidly after a delivery driver posted a photo the previous day. The driver, who was delivering cola to a home in Seoul, was surprised to see bags filled with cola stacked not only in front of the door but all along the hallway, and posted a photo in a community for delivery drivers. After this, news of the "unlimited coupon" quickly spread across SNS and various online communities, resulting in a surge of users and a flood of orders.
"Ordered Chicken 10 Times for 7,000 Won" Proof Posts... Even Coupon Reselling Emerges
Online, there have been numerous posts from people claiming they pre-ordered enough chicken for several days using this method. One netizen wrote, "There happened to be a store with a 16,000 won minimum order near my house, so I ordered chicken 10 times for 7,000 won," posting a photo of stacks of chicken boxes as proof. This user explained that by using the 3,000 won worth of points given upon registration, they spent a total of only 7,000 won on 10 orders. Since chicken is difficult to store for long periods, some people reportedly ordered only cola to meet the minimum order amount. There have even been cases of people reselling the discount coupons. On secondhand trading platforms, posts such as "I will place an order for you using a Baemin coupon" and "Selling coupon codes" appeared in quick succession.
Regarding the chicken coupon frenzy, there is ongoing debate among netizens about whether repeatedly using the coupon constitutes system abuse, or if it is legitimate use based on the guidance that "up to 999 coupons can be issued per day per identity verification." The majority of users expressed criticism, with comments such as, "Is this really our country?" "Not having money doesn't make you a beggar, but doing this does," "This is too much," "Even if you resell the cola, you won't make minimum wage," "People have lost their sense of decency," and "I'm embarrassed to be Korean."
Baemin: "No Damage to Business Owners, Issue Resolved"
Baemin has now implemented measures so that only genuine new members can receive the coupon. A company representative stated, "This incident occurred because abuse prevention settings were not in place when issuing the coupons," and added, "We have determined that there were not actually that many related orders. Since Baemin is covering all the costs for this event, business owners have not suffered any losses."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
