Convenience Store Proximity Opening Restriction Extended for 3 More Years... Long-Term Store Lease Renewal Allowed

Convenience Store Industry Association and Fair Trade Commission Sign Extension of Voluntary Agreement

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The voluntary agreement, which focuses on restricting the proximity of convenience store openings, has been extended for three years. A new clause granting contract renewal rights for stores operated for more than 10 years has also been added.

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The Korea Convenience Store Industry Association and the Fair Trade Commission announced that on the 29th at 2 p.m., Chairman Cho Sung-wook and representatives of participating convenience store companies held a 'Voluntary Agreement Extension Signing Ceremony' at the Fair Trade Mediation Agency's main conference room.

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Six franchise headquarters currently participating in the voluntary agreement?CU, GS25, 7-Eleven, Ministop, C Space, and Emart24?agreed to extend the term, and the Fair Trade Commission recently approved this. The current convenience store voluntary agreement will be in effect until December 2024.

?The convenience store industry established the voluntary agreement in December 2018 and has been implementing it since January 2019 for three years. Ahead of the agreement's expiration this December, the six participating franchise headquarters discussed extending the term and unanimously decided to extend the voluntary agreement for another three years.

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The voluntary agreement in the convenience store industry primarily aims to restrain proximity openings by carefully deciding whether to open new stores based on a comprehensive consideration of the commercial district location and characteristics around the planned opening site where existing convenience stores are located, the number of floating population, and the designated distance for tobacco retailers as determined by tobacco-related laws, ordinances, and regulations.

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According to the Convenience Store Industry Association, the compliance rate with the agreement compared to new convenience store openings reached 99.87% in 2019 and 99.98% in 2020 after the voluntary agreement was implemented. On this day, the convenience store industry added contract renewal for long-term operated stores and the invitation of external experts as chairpersons of the Voluntary Agreement Review Committee to the agreement's contents.

Choi Kyung-ho, chairman of the Korea Convenience Store Industry Association, said, "Over the past three years, the convenience store industry's voluntary agreement has achieved positive results in improving franchise store management conditions as well as strengthening win-win cooperation and partnerships with franchise stores." He added, "This extension of the voluntary agreement will also help establish fair trade order in the convenience store industry in the long term and enhance the potential for sustainable growth of the convenience store industry."

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