Supermarket Association "Mass Bankruptcies Due to COVID-19"... Judgment in the General Election

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daeseop] The Korea Supermarket Cooperative Federation announced on the 16th that sales at small neighborhood supermarkets have dropped to less than 30% of their usual levels due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

On the same day, the Supermarket Cooperative Federation issued a statement together with the chairpersons of 50 supermarket cooperatives nationwide regarding the COVID-19 situation. They requested the government and the National Assembly to ▲expand emergency management stabilization funds for small business owners ▲increase the issuance amount of Onnuri gift certificates ▲expand the handling and usage locations of Onnuri gift certificates to cover the entire neighborhood commercial district ▲extend the maturity and grace periods of small business loans ▲and relax the screening criteria for emergency livelihood and management stabilization funds.

The federation explained that the management conditions of self-employed business owners had been worsening due to the economic downturn, and with the added impact of COVID-19, customer visits to neighborhood commercial districts have long ceased. They also claimed that small neighborhood supermarkets under 99.17㎡ have seen sales drop to less than 30% of usual levels, with almost no sales except for cigarettes and daily necessities.

They emphasized that if the National Assembly continues to watch the livelihoods of small business owners collapse due to political interests, voters will immediately judge them with their rights in the upcoming general election.

Im Won-bae, chairman of the Supermarket Cooperative Federation, lamented, "Although it has been less than a month since concerns about the spread of COVID-19 began, the entire country is already being devastated by it," adding, "Especially self-employed business owners in neighborhood commercial districts are facing not only temporary or permanent closures but also chain bankruptcies, making it extremely difficult to sustain their livelihoods."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.