TORONTO - Restaurant Brands International Inc.’s (RBI) brand Popeyes and wholly-owned subsidiary of Silla Co., Ltd. ("Silla Group") announced on a master franchise and development agreement to open hundreds of Popeyes restaurants across South Korea in the coming years.

“We are thrilled to launch Popeyes with the Silla Group subsidiary,” said David Shear, president RBI International, parent company of Popeyes. “We have strong confidence in the group and are pleased to announce exciting plans to bring our iconic Louisiana-style chicken to one of the largest chicken QSR markets in the world. Our entry illustrates our commitment to serving more guests around the world and the execution of our growth plans for the Asia Pacific region.”

Founded in 1967, the Silla Group conglomerate operates across numerous verticals in South Korea and globally including F&B restaurants, sea-food distribution, deep-sea fishing, agriculture, and industrial manufacturing.

“Chicken is one of the largest and fastest-growing categories in the South Korean QSR segment,” said MoonKyung Lee, senior managing director of Silla Group's F&B Division. “We are proud to bring the famous Popeyes brand to South Korea and we believe that our guests will love Popeyes iconic Chicken Sandwich. Popeyes is an exciting addition to the Silla Group's F&B portfolio and is expected to become one of the key drivers of growth for us. It will also contribute significantly to the economy by creating hundreds of new jobs over the coming years. We couldn't be more excited.”

Popeyes aims to emphasize a seamless guest experience through its commitment to bring digital innovation to South Korea, the company said in a statement. Restaurants will feature digital ordering screens, mobile ordering, and delivery, to serve guests.

In 2021, Popeyes announced agreements to enter the United Kingdom, Romania, France and India, and to expand in Mexico and Saudi Arabia. Other international expansions over the past years include Spain, Switzerland, China, Brazil, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines.