[2022 National Audit] Lee Chang-yang, Minister of Industry, "Abolishing Mandatory Closure of Large Mart Not a Premise"

10 Years Since Introduction, Effectiveness Controversy... August Presidential Office National Proposal Vote Planned

On the 21st, Lee Chang-yang, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, who attended the comprehensive audit of the Industry, Trade, Small and Medium Enterprises Committee held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, is drinking water. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Lee Chang-yang, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, stated on the 21st that "the government is not considering abolishing" the mandatory closure of large discount stores.

Minister Lee made these remarks while attending the National Assembly's Trade, Industry, Energy, Small and Medium Business Committee's audit on the same day.

He said, "The Win-Win Council was launched last July, and we can think about strengthening the competitiveness of individual entities and sharing good distribution strategies to develop together."

The mandatory closure of large discount stores, first introduced in 2012, had been criticized for failing to revitalize traditional markets and small businesses, leading to proposals for its abolition.

In response, the Presidential Office planned in August to put the abolition of the mandatory closure of large discount stores to a public proposal vote and reflect the results in state affairs, but withdrew the plan citing abuse (duplicate submissions) during the voting process.

The Office for Government Policy Coordination also held a Regulatory Judgment Meeting in August to assess the validity of existing regulations and discussed the abolition of the mandatory closure of large discount stores as the first agenda item with private experts.

At the hearing on the day, Heo Young-jae, Vice Chairman of the Chain Store Association, stated the association's position during the Regulatory Judgment Meeting, saying, "The mandatory closure regulation has been in place for 10 years and needs improvement in three areas."

Vice Chairman Heo proposed improvement measures including ▲ easing excessive online business regulations ▲ strengthening the authority of local government heads to designate mandatory closure days ▲ excluding quasi-large-scale SSM (Super Supermarket) stores with a self-capital ratio exceeding 50% from the regulation.

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