[News Space=Reporter seungwon lee] President Lee Jae-myung strongly criticized shrinkflation, or "tricky price increases"—reducing product volume while maintaining prices—during a Cabinet meeting on the 11th, raising concerns in the chicken industry. Kyochon Chicken, in particular, was cited as a prime example, causing widespread repercussions in the domestic restaurant industry.

Kyochon Chicken faced criticism for deceiving consumers in September of this year when it drastically reduced the weight of some boneless chicken items from 700g to 500g, while maintaining the same price. The company's decision to mix chicken breast with chicken thigh meat, previously used exclusively as a main ingredient, also fueled the price hike controversy. This "shrinkflation" practice drew criticism from ruling and opposition party lawmakers during a National Assembly audit, prompting government agencies, including the Presidential Office, the Fair Trade Commission, and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, to take action.

Consumers are expressing strong discontent and a sense of betrayal over Kyochon's unethical price hikes, saying, "Kyochon is doing it again!" Some are even calling for boycotts and eroding consumer trust, threatening the Kyochon brand's market leadership. 

Kyochon F&B, which operates Kyochon Chicken, ultimately decided on October 23rd to restore the weight and main ingredient composition of its boneless menu. However, this process suffered a significant blow to public trust and brand image. Consequently, the company's stock price fluctuated sharply, showing signs of instability.

Shrinkflation is already regulated by the government on 37 processed foods, including snacks, beer, and sausages. However, prepared foods like chicken have been exempt from labeling requirements, falling into a blind spot. Following the recent Kyochon Chicken controversy, the government plans to expand the scope of the regulation to the restaurant industry and announce related measures by the end of the year.

As an official sponsor of the 2025 APEC Summit, Kyochon Chicken operated a food truck at the Gyeongju site, providing 7,200 servings of chicken. However, attention shifted to Kkanbu Chicken after a live broadcast of a meeting at the Samsung branch of Kkanbu Chicken, attended by Jensen Huang, CEO of global IT company Nvidia. Despite the unprecedented buzz surrounding Kkanbu Chicken, which resulted in a surge in orders, delayed delivery, and even store closures, Kyochon Chicken failed to achieve the anticipated promotional impact.

Restaurant industry insiders emphasize that "price increases and weight adjustments are management decisions reflecting overall increases in raw material and labor costs," and that "transparent notification to consumers is more important than weight reductions per se." However, some point out that the policy of changing the chicken sales standard from "per head" to "per gram" is unlikely to be feasible due to the existing weight range of 950-1050g used for a single chicken.

According to Statistics Korea, restaurant prices rose 3-7% annually from 2022 to 2024. Chicken prices rose 15-28% at major franchises like BBQ, Kyochon, and BHC over the same period, leading the perceived inflation increase. Rising broiler prices and shortages in certain parts of the chicken are the primary drivers of these price increases.

A franchise industry expert analyzed, "This incident shows that in an era of high prices, restoring consumer trust and policy transparency are more important than ever." He added, "President Lee Jae-myung's direct order to 'quickly prepare institutional supplementary measures to address tricks that deceive consumers' can also be interpreted as a strong message to stabilize dining out prices and ease the burden on ordinary people."

A chicken industry insider said, "Kyochon Chicken is experiencing internal strife due to the shrinkflation controversy, criticism from the political world, and the fact that it is an official sponsor of APEC, but is getting less attention than its 'Kkanbu Chicken.'" He added, "Depending on the government's future policy response, major changes are expected in the price and volume policies of the entire restaurant industry."