Gwangju City Maintains Stance Amid Policy to Abolish Mandatory Holiday Closures for Large Supermarkets

Mayor Kang Gijeong "Close Cooperation with 5 Autonomous Districts... Best Efforts to Protect Neighborhood Markets and Small Business Owners"

The Gwangju Metropolitan City expressed its position that the principle of mandatory holiday closures for large marts remains unchanged in response to the government's policy to abolish mandatory holiday closures for large marts.

On the 24th, Gwangju Mayor Kang Gi-jung announced this during the New Year's economic sector briefing.

On the 22nd, the Office for Government Policy Coordination announced at the "Public Discussion on Livelihood with the People" that it would abolish the principle of setting mandatory closure days for large marts on public holidays and instead promote a plan to have them close on weekdays.

Under the current Distribution Industry Development Act, mandatory closure days for large-scale stores are stipulated as "designated among public holidays, but with agreement from stakeholders, non-public holidays may be designated as mandatory closure days."

Accordingly, Gwangju City has stipulated in the "Ordinance on Registration and Adjustment of Large-scale Stores in Autonomous Districts" that "the district mayor shall designate mandatory closure days as public holidays." The mandatory closure public holidays are the second and fourth Sundays of every month.

Currently, there are a total of 18 large-scale stores subject to mandatory holiday closures in the Gwangju area: 10 large marts and 8 Super Supermarkets (SSMs).

Gwangju City plans to maintain the "principle of mandatory holiday closures for large marts" as there is strong opposition from small business owners in alleyway commercial districts (Small Business Association, Merchants Association) who are sensitive to the closures of large-scale stores.

Mayor Kang Gi-jung of Gwangju said, "Many small business owners are worried about the damage caused by the government's announcement to abolish mandatory holiday closures for large marts," and added, "Gwangju City will consult with the five autonomous districts to ensure that mandatory holiday closures for large marts to protect alleyway commercial districts are maintained without change."

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