"Garak Market Facility Usage Fee Increase Rate 5%, Equivalent to an Average Monthly 13,700 KRW"

Seoul Agro-Fisheries & Food Corporation Clarifies on the 7th: "Garak Market Intermediate Wholesalers' Facility Usage Fees Are Very Low"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Regarding the 5% increase in deposit and rent at Seoul's Garak, Gangseo, and Yanggok markets and related reports, the Seoul Agricultural & Marine Products Corporation issued an explanatory statement on the 7th, clarifying that the 5% increase in Garak Market facility usage fees corresponds to a modest amount of 13,700 KRW per month on average.

The corporation stated that for fruit wholesale dealer stores (contract area 63.13㎡, exclusive 40.4㎡, common 22.73㎡), based on 2020 data, a 5% increase in 2021 would only raise the monthly fee by 13,700 KRW, from last year's facility usage fee of 275,600 KRW to this year's 289,300 KRW.

Furthermore, despite COVID-19, the transaction amount of wholesalers within Garak Market has increased. They claimed that the transaction amount of fruit and vegetable wholesalers in Garak Market has significantly increased compared to the previous year and the recent three years, indicating no negative impact on sales due to COVID-19, but rather an increase.

The facility usage fee for Garak Market wholesalers is about 15.8% of the average rent of nationwide collective shopping centers and about 8.48% of the average rent of Seoul collective shopping centers, making it very affordable, the corporation explained.

The corporation asserted that while 30 public wholesale markets nationwide, excluding Garak, Gangseo, and Guri markets, charge facility usage fees based on official land prices, they charge facility usage fees at about 42% of the official land price, minimizing the burden on wholesalers.

Along with this, as part of efforts to reduce rent (facility usage fees) for distributors affected by COVID-19, the corporation reported that in 2020, they provided a 50% discount (811,134,000 KRW) on 10 months' worth of facility usage fees to 670 wholesalers meeting the small business criteria within Garak Market, aiming to alleviate distributors' hardships.

Regarding Garak Mall rental facilities, about 1,100 eligible facilities received rent reductions: approximately 2.4 billion KRW for the first period (February to July, 6 months) and about 1.7 billion KRW for the second period (September to December, 4 months), totaling 4.1 billion KRW in rent reductions benefiting distributors throughout 2020.

Additionally, the corporation announced that in 2021, they planned to implement a 50% reduction in rent and facility usage fees for distributors (January to June 2020), establish detailed criteria such as sales-based and differential payment eligibility, and promote a 50% reduction in rent and common management fees as well as payment deferrals (from February 2020).

A corporation official stated, "In 2020, by early repayment of modernization project loans, we reduced interest expenses by 11.4 billion KRW until 2040, actively pursued financial soundness measures, achieving an annual cost reduction and revenue generation effect of 4.4 billion KRW. In particular, to alleviate the burden of modernization project costs, which is the main cause of the corporation's financial deterioration, we are continuously consulting with the government on measures such as lowering interest rates on modernization project loans."

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