Busan Korean Restaurant, Masan Seafood House "An employee earns more than the President"

An independent business closure is on the rise in a building in Seoul on the 23rd of last month. [연합뉴스]

Cho Hyun-cheon (39), who plays at a pizza shop in Gyeonggi-do, Incheon, sighs in sales last month. Cho said: "Once the end of the year and New Year's holidays are over, the orders have been pushed back and I have to use a delivery service." Cho said: "The biggest Christmas sale (25th year) ) was only 500,000 won, "he said." That's only half of last year. "Cho, became a franchisee franchisee in 2010 and became a Independent brand three years ago, is responsible for everything from cooking to delivery to his wife. "Cho said," I've been a pizzeria for about 10 years, but that's the first time I've been to it. do not do."

Park Hee-jin (35), a seafood restaurant in Masan-Changdong, Gyeongsangnam-do, said his sales had dropped to half of last month's sales in December, Park said. Even though the company is not in business, I pulled 50 million won in December and last month it was half the price of 23 million won. " Mr. Park's store is 148 square meters (about 45 pyeong) and has five employees. The labor costs 12 to 13 million won per month. Park said, "If I give a salary to an employee (an average of 2.5 million won), I will have less money to pay my boss," he said. "I do not want to be in deficit because my rent is 2.2 million won." Park plans to cut two employees this year. "I can not help thinking about the situation at this time so I have to write a daily newspaper, "he said.

Iguchi (34), who operates three kebabs and a Korean restaurant in Seomyeon and Namcheon-dong, Busan, said that there was no special gift at the end of the year. year. Lee said, "The written skewers are similar to last year's, but sales in Namcheon-dong have dropped by 30%." "In the '20s and' 30s, many city dwellers try to maintain their sales this way, but in the '30s and' 40s, most neighborhood businesses are dead, especially at the end of the year this year As the business environment worsens, I will gradually reduce the number of employees starting this year. "Lee said," The Korean restaurant has a lot of food, but now I'm going to delete the side menu and focus only on the main menu. "Simplifying the menu will reduce the number of employees by one."

Lee Chol-seung (44), owner of a cafeteria shop in Gwangwoo-dong, also said, "Sales have fallen by 30% over the end of last year," he said. he declared. "Customers do not open their portfolios." "I think I'm looking for over 1,000 to 1,500 winners in more than a 3,000 to 4,000 won (American standard) coffee."

There was no end of the year special for the self-employed. The end of the year is the biggest turning point for those who sell food. However, at the end of last year, the frequency of restaurant outings fell sharply due to low consumption due to the economic downturn. This also appears in the statistics. According to the Bank of Korea (BOK) on December 1, the index of independent consumers (CSI) was 25 last December, against 84 in January. The BOK has experienced its sharpest decline since 2008, when the statistics were compiled.

The introduction of the 52-hour work week has reduced the number of employee meals and the recent rise in out-of-home prices has been a major factor for consumers. According to the National Office of Statistics (NSO), prices for food services rose 3.1% in December from a year ago. With the rising costs of raw materials and labor, restaurant prices seem to have influenced consumers.

The volume of orders via the delivery application has increased, but the atmosphere is not the same. In the delivery applications market, the number of orders placed by the country in 24-25 days last month increased by 39% compared to the same period in 2016. Bainmin said that the number of orders per month in July last was 20 million, double what it was at the beginning of 2017 (10 million). Given this, the increase in orders over the last two days of Christmas has not been much higher than this increase.

Since this year, the minimum wage has increased by 10.9% and self-employed workers are increasing their part-time work. The so-called "Split Alba". Part-time employees who work less than 15 hours a week do not have to pay weekly benefits. Yumo (55), who works at a coffee shop in Sinjeong-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, has been using this method since last year. Six of the 91 hours (13 hours × 7 days) of working hours per week work between 70 and 80 hours, and the rest of your time is spent by you. "I have to wait for the schedule to be complicated and I can not afford part-time workers, but if I do not do it, I can not afford the cost of the labor," he said. Yoo.

Kim Young Joo reporter [email protected]