"Cockroaches Found"... Food Delivery Complaints Surge Amid Severe Shortage of Inspectors

Each Public Official Oversees 370 Restaurants
"Independent Inspections Impossible"

Surge in Delivery-Related Complaints
Fundamental Reinforcement of Inspection System Needed

#. Mr. A recently screamed in shock while about to eat Jjamppong he had ordered for delivery. As soon as he unwrapped the plastic packaging and placed it on the table, four cockroaches spilled out. Mr. A expressed his frustration, saying, "How bad must the hygiene be for cockroaches to be delivered with the food?" and added, "I'm angry and anxious."

#. Mr. B, a delivery driver, witnessed a shocking scene while picking up food at a restaurant. When he noticed a strong smell of cigarettes coming from the kitchen and checked inside, he found a paper cup filled with cigarette butts next to a pile of onions and cabbages. Mr. B said, "I was horrified to see the cigarette butts," and emphasized, "There needs to be a surprise hygiene inspection."

A menu board displaying prices is posted at a restaurant in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jojongjun

As the use of food delivery services becomes more widespread, complaints about "poor hygiene" have surged. However, there is a severe shortage of administrative staff to monitor and inspect these issues. Experts argue that the hygiene inspection system for restaurants needs to be fundamentally strengthened, including expanding the number of food hygiene specialists and implementing punitive and reward systems.

According to the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission on March 6, the monthly average number of complaints related to food delivery has been steadily increasing over the past three years. Last year, there was a monthly average of 354 such complaints—1.6 times higher than the 219 monthly average in 2024. Compared to 189 in 2023, the number has nearly doubled in just two years.

The main complaints have been related to "hygiene" issues, such as using expired products or inappropriate packaging containers. At one delivery-focused restaurant, a delivery driver even filed a complaint after discovering a paper cup filled with cigarette butts left in the kitchen, similar to the earlier case.

The problem is that the demand for on-site hygiene inspections far exceeds the capacity of the available workforce. Currently, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety establishes the inspection plans, and each local government is responsible for practical implementation. However, the number of administrative personnel is insufficient relative to the number of registered restaurants, leaving them struggling to handle even the annual regular inspections and citizen complaint cases.

An official from the hygiene department of a district office in Seoul said, "Besides hygiene inspections, each staff member already has a mountain of other work, so there isn't enough time to inspect even just the restaurants reported through complaints. It is realistically impossible for local governments to carry out surprise inspections on their own initiative," the official added.

According to Food Safety Korea under the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, there are 169,346 general restaurants registered in Seoul. In contrast, the total number of hygiene staff across the 25 district offices responsible for managing these restaurants is only about 460. This means each staff member is responsible for overseeing the hygiene conditions of approximately 370 establishments.

Given the persistent concerns about the hygiene of delivered food, there are calls to fundamentally strengthen the inspection system. Heo Kyungok, Professor of Consumer Industry at Sungshin Women's University, advised, "We need to strengthen penalties for businesses where hygiene issues occur, while also rewarding outstanding restaurants. In particular, expanding the public disclosure of information about establishments with poor hygiene will guarantee consumers' right to know and heighten awareness."

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