Genesis BBQ Chairman Yoon Hong-geun gives a speech during the company's 25th anniversary, at one of the company's buildings in Seoul, Sept. 1, 2020. Courtesy of Genesis BBQ

By Kim Jae-heun

Some customers are expressing reservations about Genesis BBQ's recent announcement it would increase the salaries of new employees this year by 33.5 percent, urging the fried chicken franchise instead to lower prices.

"The company raised menu prices, saying it was due to increased raw material costs, and now it is raising its workers' wages. Let's be honest, it is making suckers out of customers and franchisees," an internet user said online.

Another online poster also accused BBQ of "extorting" money from its customers.

"It is making profits from customers and restaurant owners and sharing them with employees at the headquarters. Fried chicken is no longer a food for ordinary people," the netizen said.

BBQ has come under criticism for raising its prices last May, breaking a promise it made in December 2021 that there would be no price hikes despite surging raw material costs.

The average price of a single order at a local fried chicken franchise firm rose over 20,000 won ($15.72) from the mid-10,000-won range in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which contributed to increases in the prices of palm oil and wheat flour.

With living costs continuing to rise and companies struggling to find solutions to increase worker wages in the new year, BBQ has decided to raise new employees' starting salaries by over 30 percent.

In 2022, the fried chicken franchise firm's annual income for a new employee with a bachelor's degree was 34 million won ($26,729). Starting this year, new employees will earn 45.4 million won per year.

This measure is part of BBQ's plan to take the top position in the local fried chicken franchise market.

Apart from this raised starting salary, the company put as its goals: expanding its main business in the global market, entering the intellectual property and content fields and improving its corporate culture to be more agile.

"In order to overcome domestic and international economic crises due to such things as global inflation and the interest rate hikes, we need to move forward with bold and new innovative management," Genesis BBQ Chairman Yoon Hong-geun said.

"The company will also completely reorganize its corporate culture focusing on individual capabilities and performance while providing reasonable compensation to skilled workers."

Meanwhile, BBQ plans to introduce the industry's first subscription service and provide differentiated membership benefits focused on customer convenience.