The government has decided to abolish mandatory holiday closures for hypermarkets and allow online delivery during limited hours. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 22 (Korea Bizwire) – The government announced several measures aimed at reforming regulations related to people’s livelihoods, including scrapping the policy mandating large retailers to close their stores on Sunday twice a month, officials said Monday.
The announcement was made during a government-public debate, the fifth in a series of sessions, led by Government Policy Coordination Minister Bang Ki-seon. President Yoon Suk Yeol, who had previously led all four sessions, did not attend Monday’s meeting.
First introduced in 2012, the Distribution Industry Development Act obliges big-box retailers to close their businesses on the second and fourth Sunday of every month, with a ban on operating online deliveries from midnight to 10 a.m. The mandatory shutdown was intended to protect traditional markets and mom-and-pop stores from losing sales to large discount chains.
Despite the regulation’s intended purpose, critics argue that it not only fails to assist traditional markets but only ends up disturbing people’s shopping convenience on holidays.
“Now that online shopping has become widespread, (the government) believes it is necessary to adjust the regulations on large supermarkets in a realistic manner,” Bang said during the meeting.
Under the relaxed regulations, retailers can designate their closure days on weekdays and will be allowed to operate online shipping regardless of their business hours.
In another move to reduce the financial burden on people regarding communication fees, the government will scrap the ceiling on handset subsidies that will provide leeway for mobile carriers to offer further discounts.
Enacted in 2014, the Mobile Device Distribution Improvement Act bans mobile carriers from providing excessive discounts or illegal subsidies, aiming to bring transparency to a market long distorted by subsidies exceeding legal limits, from manufacturers and carriers competing for customers.
However, the law has sparked controversies by restricting competition among mobile carriers for providing subsidies, depriving customers of opportunities to purchase handsets at lower prices.
“If the restrictions on subsidies are lifted and there is free competition between mobile carriers and distributors, we anticipate that the people will be able to purchase mobile devices at a more affordable price,” Bang said.
The government will also push forward measures to allow small-sized bookstores to offer more significant discounts on their books, currently limited at 15 percent.
All three measures require law revisions and need approval at the National Assembly.
(Yonhap)
