Fast food chain McDonald’s sales grew 9 per cent in South Korea during the first four months of this year, in spite of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The firm’s MD Antoni Martinez made the announcement on McDonald’s Koreas’ Youtube channel, his first public address since his appointment in February.

“With the Covid-19 pandemic posing serious challenges for the business, contactless platforms such as drive-thru and McDelivery in which McDonald’s made preemptive investments, have received a warm response from the public,” said Martinez.

He said McDonald’s sales were boosted by the introduction of the Best Burger initiative and the establishment of convenient platforms.

The Best Burger initiative refers to a change in McDonald’s entire burger preparation process, which was implemented in the territory in March. Korea is the fourth country to introduce the initiative, following New Zealand, Australia and Canada.

McDonald’s Korea served around 400,000 customers every day last year at around 400 stores nationwide.