'Our son in the military, I wonder if he's eating well during the Lunar New Year holiday…'
Efforts by the Ministry of National Defense to alleviate these concerns are ongoing. To improve the quality of military meals, the military is gradually transitioning its meal services to private sector contracts. In addition to the existing leaders Pulmuone and Dongwon Home Food, Samsung Welstory, OURHOME, and Theborn Korea are also eyeing opportunities.
A representative case is the public notice for privatizing meal services for the 32nd Infantry Division, which was held last November. After competition, Pulmuone ultimately secured the contract. The price was set at 5,000 won, with the requirement to operate breakfast, lunch, and dinner, ensuring each meal exceeded 3,000 kcal and 3,500 kcal during wartime, served buffet-style.
Meal service providers are contemplating various strategies to gain an advantage in the next bidding. However, there are many murmurs in the background. This is because it seems difficult to secure profit after meeting all the desired conditions.
Labor cost issues are particularly concerning. Currently, the meal cost for the military is purely based on the cost of ingredients, unlike private sector meal services, which have virtually no labor cost component. Until now, the military has been utilizing mandatory service cooks, meaning that there was no separate labor cost involved.
When calculated based on the same number of people, it is estimated that military meal services will require about 40% more personnel than private sector meal services, necessitated by the requirement to provide three meals a day, every day of the year. A meal service provider noted, 'To operate stably while complying with labor laws, more hired personnel must be secured.'
One of the conditions in the military meal service bid is that the proportion of ingredient costs must be 70-80% of the meal cost, which deepens the concerns for meal service providers. They are required to use 90% or more of eco-friendly and domestically produced ingredients while also adhering to buffet-style serving. A meal service provider stated, 'Such conditions are hard to find even in private corporations,' adding that 'compliance with all these conditions at a meal cost of 5,000 won is virtually impossible.' Recently, meal costs at private corporations have been around 6,000 to 9,000 won.
Additionally, military personnel consume a considerable amount of food. According to data accumulated through sites transitioned to private sector contracts, the food intake of military personnel in their 20s is estimated to be about 50% higher than that of adults in private companies.
Meal service providers hope that military authorities will set conditions appropriate for the goal of 'improving military meal quality.' They often reference the case of the cafeteria at the Sejong Government Complex, where attempting to save costs led to setting unrealistic meal prices at 4,000 won, forcing meal service providers to compromise on quality, resulting in decreased patronage in a vicious cycle.
A representative from a meal service provider stated, 'Providing high-quality meal services long-term at a price of about 5,000 won is virtually impossible,' and added, 'If there is a disconnect in understanding regarding this matter, it may be necessary to undergo a test operation period of 6 months to 1 year rather than entering a long-term contract, adjusting contract terms accordingly.'
Interestingly, most meal service providers are discreetly discussing these issues behind closed doors. Since they need to participate in bidding, they refrain from openly expressing dissatisfaction for fear of incurring displeasure.
'It's difficult to close our eyes and give up in a newly opened market, and at the same time, it's tough to generate revenue under the current circumstances. How about discussing this a bit more for the sake of quality military meals?' This is the silent plea from meal service providers to the Ministry of National Defense.