35th Anniversary of McDonald's: "A Brand Like a Trustworthy Friend"

Meeting on the 5th Attended by Kim Gi-won, CEO of McDonald's Korea
Plan to Expand to 500 Stores by 2030
Add 8 Drive-Thru Stores Within This Year
Expand DT Hi-Pass Payment...Increase Convenience of Own App

"To become a trustworthy friend-like brand for the next 35 years, we will strengthen every touchpoint with our customers and provide better experiences."

Kim Ki-won, CEO of McDonald's Korea.
[Photo by McDonald's]

Kim Gi-won, CEO of McDonald's Korea, made this commitment at a press conference commemorating the 35th anniversary of McDonald's Korea held on the 5th at The Plaza Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, stating, "McDonald's 35 years have existed because of our customers."

On the day, CEO Kim presented a plan to expand the number of McDonald's stores in Korea to a total of 500 by 2030 to enhance customer convenience. He also announced plans to open eight large-scale new drive-thru (DT) stores within this year and to renovate 12 stores. The DT Hi-Pass payment system, which was first introduced in the industry, will also be expanded.

To mark its 35th anniversary, McDonald's published two company histories: a ‘History Book’ documenting its growth alongside Korean society, and a ‘Brand Story Book’ featuring stories of various figures such as employees, enthusiast customers, franchisees, and farmers centered around key McDonald's icons like the Big Mac and Happy Meal. McDonald's is the first foreign food service company in Korea to publish company histories that capture its growth in the domestic market.

McDonald's entered Korea in 1988 by opening its first store in Apgujeong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. At that time, it served 3,000 customers daily with annual sales of 1.7 billion KRW. After 35 years, it has grown into a company visited by 400,000 people daily with annual sales exceeding 1 trillion KRW. Sales in the first half of this year, including franchise stores, reached approximately 623 billion KRW, an increase of about 10% compared to the same period last year.

CEO Kim analyzed, "This growth appears to be the result of consistent long-term investments such as aggressive new store openings, strengthening the menu lineup with items like the McCrispy Burger, and operating various customer benefit platforms." He added, "Activities that meet customers' value consumption needs, such as the Lucky Burger which links purchases to donations, and the ‘Yes Kids Zone’ campaign launched last year, also contributed to the sales increase."

McDonald's plans to switch all packaging materials to recyclable and reusable materials by 2025, expand ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management through establishing eco-friendly stores, and recycling coffee grounds and waste plastics. It will also create a farm win-win fund to support farmers and provide customers with high-quality domestic ingredients. As part of this initiative, the event unveiled a new burger menu, the ‘Jindo Green Onion Cream Croquette Burger.’ Available from the 6th, this menu item is made using Jindo green onions. McDonald's plans to procure about 50 tons of Jindo green onions this year for the new menu, revitalizing local farms.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.