S. Korea's online food delivery industry grows 78.6% in 2020

The value of South Korea's online food delivery service market jumped 78.6 percent to 17.4 trillion won last year from 2019 amid the coronavirus pandemic.

It grew 6.4 times the 2.7 trillion won recorded in 2017 when the statistical agency started tracking related data.

Of the total transactions, 95 percent, or 16.5 trillion won, were mobile orders, with the remainder involving internet deals.

The surge in the number of food deliveries was attributed to the pandemic's impact that kept people from dining out.

Industry sources expect the local online food delivery industry to expand further due to growing consumer demand and virus-induced restrictions on restaurants.

The number of coronavirus infections in South Korea has exceeded 90,000.