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Baedal Minjok operator announce new expert CEO

Published: 02 Jan. 2025, 18:34

Woowa Brothers' new CEO Kim Bum-seok [YONHAP]

Woowa Brothers, operator of the online delivery platform Baedal Minjok (Baemin), said Thursday it has appointed global mobility platform expert Kim Bum-seok as its new CEO who will lead the company's efforts to secure a new growth driver.

On Thursday, Kim took up the post, succeeding Pieter-Jan Vandepitte, the interim CEO of Woowa Brothers, the company said in a press release.

Throughout his career, Kim has founded and managed numerous startups and on-demand platform businesses, including the Turkey operations of the global ride-hailing platform Uber and the food delivery app Glovo.

Woowa Brothers expected the new CEO's "global experience and expertise in on-demand platforms" will help the company drive new growth and sustainability for the business.

Korea is one of the world's biggest food delivery markets, backed by its high smartphone penetration and dense population.

In December 2019, German online food delivery service Delivery Hero acquired South Korea's top food delivery app operator Woowa Brothers for $4 billion.

Delivery Hero currently owns a 99.07 percent stake in Woowa Brothers.

The country's online food delivery market grew sharply to reach 26.4 trillion won ($18 billion) in 2023 from 2 trillion won in 2017, according to Statistics Korea.

Baemin accounted for 57 percent of the market as of November last year, with the remainder shared by Yogiyo and Coupang Eats, according to data from market tracker Mobile Index.

Yonhap