McDonald's to raise prices of some items in line with industry trend

A McDonald's outlet in Seoul [YONHAP]

McDonald's Korea will raise prices by an average of 2.8 percent on select menu items starting May 2, following a similar move seen at other burger franchises.

The price hike will affect 16 items.

Fried chicken and burgers become more expensive post-election

À la carte burgers such as the Hamburger, Cheeseburger, Double Cheeseburger and Triple Cheeseburger are each set to rise by 100 won (7 cents). The Bulgogi Burger will increase by 300 won, and the Egg Bulgogi Burger will climb by 400 won.

"We have unavoidably adjusted the price due to rising costs in raw materials, logistics and labor," a McDonald's Korea official said, while adding, "We have minimized adjustments in items and scale to reduce the impact on customers."

As such, McDonald's signature Big Mac and McSpicy Shanghai burgers, as well as the Happy Meal and McCafé menus, will maintain their current prices.

This move comes just six months after the last price increase on Nov. 2, when the prices of 13 items rose by an average of 3.7 percent. Prior to that, in February of the same year, select menu prices went up by an average of 5.4 percent.

The price hikes did not appear to deter customers, with the Korean branch of the U.S. burger franchise achieving record-breaking revenue of 1.3 trillion won in 2023. Operating losses decreased by 27 percent to 20.3 billion won, while net losses declined by 12 percent to 31.9 billion won.

The franchise industry, which refrained from raising prices before the April 10 general election out of caution against scrutiny by the government, has since been implementing hikes in a series. Popeyes Korea raised prices by an average of 4 percent on selected items, while Goobne Chicken raised the prices of nine menu items by 1,900 won each.

No Brand Burger raised the prices of some 30 burgers and sides by an average of 3.1 percent from Feb. 29.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]