Some autonomous districts in Seoul have changed the mandatory closure day of large discount stores from Sunday to weekdays, while the Democratic Party is pushing to revert it back to "Sunday mandatory closure." However, merchants in traditional markets and general small business owners in regions where mandatory weekday closures for large discount stores have already been implemented noted, "Customers come to large discount stores on Sundays, and then they also visit our shops. Weekday mandatory closures for large discount stores are better for us."
◇Democratic Party pushes for restricting mandatory closure of large discount stores to holidays
On the 12th, the Democratic Party announced 20 major topics related to people's livelihoods during a meeting on people's livelihood. Among these was a proposal to restrict mandatory closure days for large discount stores to holidays rather than weekdays.
Since the revision of the Distribution Industry Development Act, large discount stores have been required to close twice a month since 2012. Most local governments designate holidays (Sundays) as mandatory closure days. The intention was to encourage consumers to shop in traditional markets while large discount stores are closed on holidays, thus protecting the local economy.
Mandatory closures on holidays have been implemented in Seoul as well. However, among the 25 autonomous districts in Seoul, Seocho District, Dongdaemun District, and Jung District changed their mandatory closure days to weekdays starting last year. Following this, Gwanak District began enforcing weekday mandatory closures in February of this year. Currently, Emart, Lotte Mart, and Homeplus in these four districts are closed on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month. If the Democratic Party's push for mandatory closures of large discount stores on holidays is realized, these large discount stores will have to close once again on Sundays.
◇Traditional markets and small business owners say "weekday closures help sales"... Empirical survey results also noted
In response, ChosunBiz met with citizens from Seocho District, Dongdaemun District, and Jung District, as well as traditional market merchants and small business owners around large discount stores on the 14th, and they all expressed, "It is better for large discount stores to close on weekdays."
In the morning at Lotte Mart Seocho branch, Kang Hyung-kyu, 59, said, "Having lived in Seocho for over 30 years and having experienced both Sunday and Wednesday closures, I found Wednesday closures to be much better," adding, "When large discount stores close on Sundays, customers tend to flock to the stores on Fridays and Saturdays." He stated that when large discount stores are closed on Sundays, that doesn't mean consumers will go to traditional markets or small businesses for shopping.
A woman in her 60s, Ms. Na, met at Lotte Mart Zeta Plex Seoul Station, said, "Usually, I am busy on weekdays, so I have to come shopping on weekends, so from a consumer's perspective, it would be much better if large discount stores are closed on weekdays." She noted that for those who can only shop at large discount stores on Sundays, mandatory closures on holidays would be inconvenient.
Small business owners near Lotte Mart Seocho branch shared similar opinions. Jang Hyung-ki, 53, who runs a Chinese restaurant, said, "In the past, I thought it was a win-win to have large discount stores close on Sundays, but over time, it seems that it has had no effect," adding, "In fact, when Lotte Mart closes on Wednesdays, weekend visitors to the store noticeably increase our store sales." Choi Mo, 51, who runs a sushi restaurant, said, "This neighborhood does not have a traditional market, so if large discount stores close on Sundays, consumption will just die out." This emphasizes that small business owners need to take advantage of consumers' opportunities to shop in nearby commercial areas when they come to large discount stores on Sundays.
There are also empirical survey results that align with the merchants' claims. The Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation analyzed the impact on sales around large discount stores in Seocho District and Dongdaemun District from the second and fourth Sundays of February to April last year, after the mandatory closure days were changed to weekdays. The results showed that sales in commercial areas within a 1km radius of large discount stores in Seocho District increased by 9.7% compared to 2023. During the same period, sales in the commercial area near large discount stores in Dongdaemun District increased by 24.4%, and sales in traditional markets also rose by 22.3%.
Jeong Sang-geun, president of the Dongdaemun District Merchants Association, said, "As large discount stores are open on holidays, customers visiting the stores also visit the traditional markets, which has revitalized the traditional markets in Dongdaemun District," adding, "I hope the simplistic argument that closing large discount stores on Sundays protects traditional market areas is put to rest now. "
There are also concerns that limiting mandatory closures of large discount stores to Sundays will activate online shopping instead of traditional markets. Byun Jun-kyung, a 35-year-old office worker living in Mapo District, said, "There are Mangwon Market and Homeplus near my house, but even on the days Homeplus is closed, I use same-day delivery from online shopping malls instead of going to the market." Lim Mo, 42, who operates a café near Lotte Mart Seocho branch, remarked, "Restricting mandatory closures of large discount stores to Sundays seems like a policy that just wants to expand Coupang's logistics centers."