Minimum Wage Hike Prompts Restaurants to Give up Deliveries

A growing number of restaurants are charging customers delivery fees or halting deliveries as they struggle with the minimum wage hike.

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Hwang Doo-hyun (31), who lives in northeastern Seoul, has had to cut down on ordering in because few restaurants will deliver cheap meals. "I can only have food delivered if I order two portions or pay for the delivery", he said.

Han Min-young (25), a university student in eastern Seoul, said, "These days, restaurants refuse to deliver food if you order a dish costing less than W12,000. For people living alone like myself, having food delivered to your home has become a luxury".

Other restaurants factor the delivery cost in the price of dishes. One owner of a fried chicken restaurant in northern Seoul began charging an additional W1,000 on orders to cover delivery costs. "I get fewer complaints if I just add the costs onto the menu".

Although they face complaints from customers, restaurant owners claim they have no other choice. If they do not charge for delivery, they say they lose money.

The fried-chicken restaurant owner said, "Last year, I paid part-time workers W10,000 an hour, but they are now asking for more due to the minimum wage hike. If I don't charge delivery fees, I can't find any part-time staff willing to work for me".