The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry announced on the 10th that it has proposed improvements to 24 unreasonable regulations in daily life, including restrictions on early morning deliveries at large supermarkets.
First, the regulation on early morning delivery hours for large supermarkets was included on the list. The current Distribution Industry Development Act mandates that large supermarkets observe mandatory holidays twice a month and limits business hours from midnight to 10 a.m. Online ordering and delivery are also prohibited during this time. Complaints have been raised that limiting online operating hours solely for large supermarkets for over a decade disrupts fair competition.
Regulations on insurance restrictions for extending product warranty services for mobile phone products have also been raised for improvement. The average replacement cycle for smartphones has lengthened to around three years, but in Korea, the warranty period is limited to two years due to regulations. While both manufacturers and sellers can provide their own warranty extension services for cars and home appliances, telecommunications companies cannot extend warranties for a fee once the typical two-year manufacturer warranty period has expired.
There are also calls for rationalizing regulations on advertising in cinemas. Currently, advertisements shown in theaters must undergo prior grading reviews by the Korea Media Rating Board. However, the same advertisements aired on television or subways only require self-regulation. The film industry has suggested transitioning cinema advertising to a self-regulatory system to enhance the autonomy and creativity of the advertising market and revitalize the stagnant cinema advertising market.
The necessity for improving regulations that restrict the methods of notifying shareholders of general meetings has also been raised. While most notices and announcements are already delivered via mobile, the Commercial Act stipulates that notifications for shareholder meetings must be made in writing. Every year, 100 million documents related to shareholder meetings are mailed, incurring expenses of 12 billion won. Corporations have suggested that legal grounds be established to allow the inclusion of email or mobile phone information in the shareholder registry, thereby fundamentally permitting electronic notifications and expanding the options for shareholders' notification methods.
Lee Jong-myung, head of the Industrial Innovation Headquarters, noted, "Eliminating inconveniences that the public experiences in daily life is the starting point for regulatory rationalization," adding, "It is important to swiftly organize regulations that may seem minor but influence consumer trust and market efficiency."