[News Space=Reporter seungwon lee] Recently, Kyochon Chicken has faced growing controversy over its pricing policies that have repeatedly betrayed consumer trust.

First, on September 11, Kyochon Chicken reduced the precooked weight of its boneless chicken menu from 700g to 500g, a 28.6% cut, and changed its ingredients from using only chicken thigh meat to a mix including chicken breast. This sparked a ‘shrinkflation’ (reducing quantity while raising prices) controversy. These reductions and ingredient changes were made without prior notice to consumers and drew criticism over fears of quality deterioration.

Then, starting September 19, franchisees in Seoul increased order prices through delivery apps like Baedal Minjok and Coupang Eats by 2,000 KRW each. The signature Honey Combo increased from 23,000 KRW to 25,000 KRW, making delivery orders almost 30,000 KRW.

More than 90% of Seoul’s franchise stores participated, based on agreements between Kyochon Chicken headquarters and local franchisees. However, prices for in-store and Kyochon-exclusive app orders remained the same, creating a structure where delivery app users face ‘reverse discrimination.’

The primary reason for the price hikes is the heavy commission fees of delivery apps, averaging around 30%, which pushed franchisees to raise prices. Consumers are highly dissatisfied, feeling they face real price increases after already suffering reduced quantity and quality. The dual pricing between delivery apps and stores has further fueled accusations of consumer deception.

These ‘cunning increases’ and ‘shrinkflation’ controversies have deepened consumer distrust of Kyochon Chicken. The industry and consumers have criticized these shameless practices with the phrase “교촌한다,” used indirectly to denounce the brand. While competitors are also raising delivery menu prices, Kyochon Chicken faces the most severe criticism due to the double burden of reduced weight and ingredient quality followed by price hikes, leading to serious debates over ‘value for money’ decline.

To recover its leadership and brand trust as a premier domestic chicken franchise, Kyochon Chicken urgently needs to enhance pricing policy transparency and improve communication with consumers.