"Destroying Neighborhood Commerce"...Backlash Grows Over Allowing Early-Morning Deliveries by Large Discount Stores

Press Conference by the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise on the Morning of February 6
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Small business owners, labor groups, and civil society organizations are escalating their opposition to the government and ruling party’s push to allow early-morning online delivery by large discount stores.

The Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise held a press conference at 10:00 a.m. on February 6 in front of the main gate of the National Assembly, urging an immediate halt to the discussions, saying, “Allowing late-night deliveries by large discount stores is a policy that destroys neighborhood commercial districts under the guise of consumer convenience.”

About 10 people attended the press conference, including Kim Sungmin, Co-chairman of the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise; Choi Daeyoung, Secretary General of the Online Delivery Branch of the Mart Industry Labor Union; Kang Minwook, Vice Chairman of the National Courier Labor Union; Park Yongman, Chairman of the Korea Mart Association; Jung Yeonhee, Chairperson of the Gyeonggi Northern Supermarket Cooperative; Kim Eunjung, Co-executive Director of the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy’s Center for People’s Livelihood and Hope; and representatives of the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy’s Committee for Economic Justice.

Yonhap News

The groups argued, “On the surface, they are touting ‘consumer convenience,’ but in reality this is a declaration of war to convert large discount store outlets nationwide into micro-fulfillment centers (MFCs) and strip neighborhood commercial districts of their last remaining strengths: ‘immediacy’ and ‘proximity.’”

The groups particularly took issue with the “speed” of delivery. Unlike next-day delivery offered by existing online platforms, products shipped from large discount stores located in city centers can be delivered within 1 to 3 hours. They argued that this would enable large conglomerate capital to make a full-scale entry into the quick commerce market currently led by Baemin’s “B Mart” and Coupang Eats Mart.

Citing a survey by the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade, the groups stated, “In areas where Baemin B Mart’s urban micro-fulfillment centers have opened, sales at nearby convenience stores fell by 8.4%, and sales at SSMs (super-supermarkets) dropped by 9.2%. This is evidence that even a single platform’s influence can shake neighborhood commercial districts.” They went on to warn, “If large discount stores such as Emart, Homeplus, and Lotte Mart, which have nationwide distribution networks, are allowed to break free from regulatory constraints and jump into the quick commerce war, the destructive impact will be incomparable,” adding that local butcher shops, side-dish stores, and greengrocers could be wiped out by aggressive tactics such as “loss-leader products” and “free delivery coupons.”

Yonhap News Agency

Labor groups argued that expanding late-night deliveries would seriously undermine workers’ right to health. They pointed out that problems of overwork are already recurring at Coupang’s logistics sites, yet instead of regulating this, the government is trying to bring large discount store workers into the same competitive regime. They stressed, “Mandatory closing days and business hour restrictions at large discount stores have been the only humane time when mart workers could rest with their families,” and that “allowing online deliveries will take away even this minimal right to rest.”

They criticized the government and ruling party, saying they are “trying to cover up their incompetence and lack of will to resolve Coupang’s monopoly problem by easing regulations on large discount stores.” If Coupang is the problem, they argued, the starting point of policy should be regulating platform monopolies and correcting unfair trade practices, but instead the government has chosen a race-to-the-bottom logic of “since Coupang does it, let large discount stores do it too.”

The groups demanded: ▲an immediate halt to discussions on allowing late-night and early-morning deliveries by large discount stores; ▲the establishment of regulations on monopoly and oligopoly by large platforms such as Coupang; and ▲guarantees of distribution and delivery workers’ rights to health and rest.

Co-chairman Kim Sungmin declared, “The right of self-employed workers to make a living and the right of workers to health cannot be treated as bargaining chips in policy negotiations,” adding, “We will continue united struggles until this anti-people, anti-labor policy is withdrawn.”

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