South Korea probes major fried-chicken chains for possible price coordination
By Jenny Lee ( October 7, 2026, 08:01 GMT | Insight) -- South Korea’s antitrust regulator has opened a cartel investigation into three of the country’s biggest fried-chicken chains, examining whether their pricing practices involved coordination at a time when the cost of raw chicken has fallen sharply but menu prices have barely moved. The Korea Fair Trade Commission sent investigators to the headquarters of BHC, BBQ and Kyochon on Tuesday for onsite inspections that remain under way, MLex understands, in what is understood to be the first cartel investigation into the pricing practices of South Korea’s major fried-chicken franchises.South Korea’s antitrust regulator has opened a cartel investigation into three of the country’s biggest fried-chicken chains, examining whether their pricing practices involved coordination at a time when the cost of raw chicken has fallen sharply but menu prices have barely moved....
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