Restaurants charge more for food delivered than eaten in

A delivery rider parks the motorcycle in front of a restaurant in Seoul on Tuesday [YONHAP]

Some restaurants in Seoul are charging more for items delivered.

They are not just extracting a delivery fee but adding a premium to the price of the food. Some are even reducing the size of the portions.

Of 1,061 menu items at 34 restaurants in Seoul, half of them were priced higher when listed on delivery apps, such as Baedal Minjok, Yogiyo and Coupang Eats, than in restaurants, according to Korea Consumer Agency (KCA) on Tuesday.

Of the 34 restaurants, 20 had higher food prices for delivery than for eat-ins.

On average, these menu items were 10.2 percent more expensive on the delivery apps than in stores.

Some restaurants passed the buck to customers to pay for delivery app commissions and advertisements.

Of the 1,005 restaurant owners who use delivery apps surveyed by KCA, 49.4 percent said they raised food and delivery prices and reduced the amount of food when delivery commission fees rose, and 45.8 percent did the same for the rise in advertisement fees.

When asked on if the current delivery fees are expensive, 50.1 percent of the 1,950 customers surveyed and 75.9 percent of 1,005 restaurant owners said yes.

The agency announced in its report on Tuesday that it will coordinate with delivery companies to come up with a win-win method to set the delivery and commission fees.

It will also request restaurant owners to clearly note to customers if their menu price is different in delivery apps and stores.

BY KIM EUN-BIN [sohn.dongjoo@joongang.co.kr]