Eating fresh to cost more as Subway raises prices on increasing expenses

The sandwich chain will raise prices on June 25, with 15-centimeter sandwiches going up an average of 193 won.

A Subway outlet in Seoul [YONHAP]

Subway Korea will raise the prices of some sandwiches and other items starting from June 25 due to the rising costs of raw materials, labor and public utilities.

The most popular sandwiches with a size of 15 centimeters (6 inches) will climb by an average of 193 won ($0.14), or approximately 2.8 percent, Subway said on Thursday.

Salads will increase between 100 won to 300 won, and drinks and set menus will each rise by 100 won to 200 won.

This price increase comes one year and four months after the last increase in February of 2023. At the time, Subway increased the prices of 75 menu items including sandwiches by 9.1 percent on average.

"The increase in menu prices was unavoidable due to the rising costs of ingredients, labor and public utilities," the company’s spokesman said. However, the chain decided not to change the prices of side menu items.

Burger, sandwich and chicken franchises have been raising their prices since last month.

Previously, McDonald's raised the prices of 16 menu items by an average of 2.8 percent on May 2. No Brand Burger raised the prices of some 30 burgers and sides by an average of 3.1 percent from Feb. 29.

Major Korean chicken franchise Genesis BBQ had postponed its price increase for chicken products to June 4 in response to government requests to alleviate the consumer burden, having initially planned to raise prices on May 23.

BY CHOI HAE-JIN [choi.haejin@joongang.co.kr]