Guri-si Strengthens Distance Restriction Between Tobacco Retailers from 50 to 100 Meters

Partial Amendment to 'Guri-si Related Rules'... Effective from February 13 Next Year

Guri City Hall

[Asia Economy Reporter La Young-cheol] Guri City, Gyeonggi Province announced on the 12th that it will revise and implement the "Regulations on Designation Criteria for Tobacco Retailers," which includes strengthening the distance restriction between tobacco retailers from the existing 50m to over 100m.

In this regard, Gyeonggi Province has delivered the recommended revision of the tobacco retailer designation criteria to 31 cities and counties within the province.

The city promoted partial amendments to the relevant regulations, went through legislative notice, and promulgated them on this day. However, the strengthened distance criteria will be applied from February 13, 2022, three months after the promulgation.

The main amendments include ▲strengthening the distance criteria between retailers (50m → 100m) ▲strengthening the designation criteria for retailers within the district (removal of criteria for buildings over 6 floors and total floor area of 2,000㎡, and large-scale stores) ▲adding inappropriate locations to non-retail business types (real estate, beauty salons, car washes, laundries, etc.) ▲changing the announcement timing for new commercial areas (from preservation registration and ownership transfer registration to usage approval) ▲and subdividing the distance measurement method.

Since the enactment of the "Tobacco Business Act" in 1989, the existing distance regulations have been maintained, but there have been continuous criticisms that the indiscriminate competition for tobacco retail store openings has rather worsened the business conditions of self-employed operators.

Mayor Ahn Seung-nam said, "Expanding the distance between tobacco retailers is a solution to the problem of convenience stores opening too close to each other, which can protect the business profits of retailers," and added, "We will continue to strive to stabilize the business environment of retailers and revitalize local commercial districts."

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