On April 10, it was reported that the McDonald's located in Insa-dong, on the first floor of the Center Mark Hotel in Seoul, will be closing by the end of April. This store will be the 7th McDonald's store in Korea to close business for good by the end of this month. Currently, the main branch of 'McDonald's Korea' is in the process of "shedding and restructuring branches", and stores in Sinchon, Gangnam, Yongin, the Seomyeon area in Busan, Gwanak-gu, and more have announced their closures.
Seeing so many McDonald's stores in bustling, urban areas close down, netizens began to worry about their access to the affordable fast food chain. Some said, "No!!! My love, quarter pound cheeseburger, don't leave me...", "Why are they doing this TT Don't close the one near my house please TT", "My hot place TT", "No I hate the soggy lettuce at 'Lotteria'! I want to eat fresh McDonald's lettuce please!", "But bulgogi-burger is my bias TT", and more.
The main reason for the closing of numerous stores, reports say, is the increase in building rent in high-end areas. According to business data, McDonald's Korea suffered a loss of amost 13,100,000,000 KRW (~ 12 million USD) from 2013 to 2015. McDonald's Korea reps simply say that closing down 10-20 branches a year based on low revenues is normal, and there's no need for consumers to worry that "McDonald's might pull out of Korea for good."
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