Samik Fashion Town's Generous Decision... "We Will Not Charge Rent for One Month!"

846 Stores Receive Over 400 Million Won in Benefits... Employees Also Partially Return Salaries

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Jung-gu, Seoul (Mayor Seoyangho) announced on the 19th that Samik Fashion Town (CEO Park Insun) in the district has decided not to charge one month’s rent to help overcome the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). Samik Fashion Town also plans to reduce maintenance fees by half for the next two months.

Previously, Samik Fashion Town held several meetings with merchant representatives to find ways to assist merchants struggling due to COVID-19. As a result, on the 26th of last month, the store owners’ representative association (President Shin Eungryeol) decided to exempt about 400 million KRW in rent for one month for 846 stores, excluding directly managed stores.

Then, on the 9th, the management company also decided to reduce maintenance fees by half as a way to help the merchants. To raise funds, executives and employees voluntarily returned about 28 million KRW of their salaries. The reduced maintenance fees amount to approximately 150 million KRW.

CEO Park Insun said, "The store owners’ association, merchants’ association, and management company have all agreed to share the pain during these difficult times. We hope this example spreads widely so that struggling merchants can find some comfort and that it will help overcome this crisis."

Recently, the "Good Landlord Movement" has been spreading nationwide due to the economic downturn caused by COVID-19, but cases like Samik Fashion Town’s, which reduce not only rent but also maintenance fees, are rare.

Samik Fashion Town is a clothing-specialized market located in Namdaemun, Jung-gu, Seoul, and has consistently engaged in social contribution activities. It has annually sponsored the "Hwang Gisoon & Park Sangmin’s Fruit of Love" event, and since 2008, all employees have participated in the "1004 Movement," donating at least 1,004 KRW from their salary accounts monthly, sending about 200,000 KRW each month to the Fruit of Love headquarters.

Seoyangho, Mayor of Jung-gu, said, "We deeply appreciate the generous decision to reduce rent and maintenance fees. At a time when the entire nation is facing difficulties, the case of Samik Fashion Town, where store owners and the management company have joined together, will serve as a good example. The district will also devise various support measures, and we hope everyone will unite to wisely overcome this crisis."

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