Rep. Lim Young-rok at the National Audit: "Beyond the Law, I Will Focus More on Coexistence with Small Business Owners"

Lim Young-rok, CEO of Shinsegae Property
To Appear as Witness at the Industry, Trade, and Energy Committee Hearing on the 22nd

Lim Young-rok, CEO of Shinsegae Property, appeared as a witness on the 22nd at the National Assembly's Industry, Trade, Energy, Small and Medium Business Committee's audit regarding regional coexistence cooperation and issues related to the infringement of local small business districts. The photo shows CEO Lim Young-rok responding to questions at the 2017 'Starfield Goyang' press conference. Photo by Lim Young-rok

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] Lim Young-rok, CEO of Shinsegae Property, appeared as a witness at the National Assembly's Industry, Trade, Energy, Small and Medium Venture Business Committee's audit on the afternoon of the 22nd and stated, "Beyond legal standards, we will pay more attention to coexistence issues with local small business owners."

On that day, CEO Lim was summoned regarding coexistence cooperation issues with small business owners related to the complex shopping malls Starfield Anseong and Suwon, as well as controversies over infringement on alleyway commercial districts. He appeared as a witness for the second consecutive year, following last year. Starfield Anseong opened on the 7th near the Andong IC distribution complex in Gyeonggi Province.

Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Dong-joo, who requested CEO Lim's testimony, criticized, "According to the coexistence cooperation evaluation report for Starfield Anseong, although Pyeongtaek's Tongbok Market is within a 5km radius, the report only mentions Anseong Central Traditional Market, which is 11km away. It seems like a trick to deliberately exclude the Pyeongtaek area, which would be more heavily affected and likely to resist."

He continued, "Starfield Anseong stated that to promote local coexistence, they would not offer free delivery from E-Mart Traders. However, in reality, free delivery is only prohibited for payment amounts under 30,000 KRW. Not providing delivery only for orders under 30,000 KRW is an act of mocking consumers," he argued.

CEO Lim explained, "The evaluation report requires assessing the impact on traditional markets within 3km, but since there is no market nearby, Anseong Central Market was included. While legal standards are important in corporate management, I believe stakeholder consensus is key."

He added, "Although the evaluation report may have shortcomings, we have been negotiating with Tongbok Market for a year before opening Anseong and signed a coexistence agreement 2-3 months prior to the opening. While considering local coexistence measures, we contributed guarantee insurance premiums to the Gyeonggi Credit Guarantee Foundation to create a system that provides loans to those with poor credit in Pyeongtaek and Anseong," he explained. Regarding the criticism that the delivery ban threshold at Traders Anseong is too low, he bowed his head and expressed willingness to improve.

Starfield Suwon, scheduled to begin construction next month on commercial land near Hwaseo Station in Suwon, was also brought up during the audit. Lawmaker Lee Dong-joo pointed out, "There is already one complex shopping mall, three department stores, and thirteen large marts operating in the area. Is it really necessary to enter the market risking cutthroat competition?" He further claimed, "Starfield applies mixed rent to tenants, setting a fixed sales target, and if sales exceed that, they extract more accordingly. This is no different from exploiting small business owners."

In response, CEO Lim Young-rok said, "Starfield's essence is a space where families with children and friends can refresh their mood, which is different from simply selling goods like large marts. The mixed rent issue is not something that can be easily changed, but beyond legal standards, we will do our best to create related policies such as rent reductions to support small business owners struggling due to COVID-19."

Regarding Democratic Party lawmaker Ko Min-jung's criticism that there was a lack of magnanimous consideration in the conditional sale contract for the eviction of existing tenants (small business owners) related to the Dongseoul Terminal development, CEO Lim stated, "I will convey the lawmaker's concerns about this issue to our consortium partner Hanjin Heavy Industries and discuss further."

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