As logistics disruptions continue due to a strike by delivery drivers affiliated with the Cargo Solidarity of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), franchise owners are lamenting their plight.
On the 27th, a post appeared on the online community "Bobaedream" by a franchise owner who said they run a CU convenience store in a rural area. Identifying as A, a CU franchise owner operating in a rural area in the south, the person said, "I have run this place for 15 years with nothing but diligence, without education or assets. It is a depopulating area, so by 7 p.m. it is utterly desolate, but it's like a village living room, so we get by, crying and laughing together."
A said, "Today, an elderly customer pushed open the door and smiled, saying, 'I'll use my support payment to boost your sales.' He bought a carton of cigarettes and other items and handed over his card, but the moment I opened the cigarette case, there was no cigarette stock."
A added, "When I explained the situation to the elderly customer, he asked for two boxes of Gas Myung-su instead of cigarettes, but we didn't have boxes of Gas Myung-su either. He said he even took a taxi on purpose to boost our sales, and I bowed my head in apology."
After the elderly customer left, A went into the storage to restock the shelves and suddenly burst into tears. It was because the storage, usually packed full, looked so empty. A said, "Kids who had just finished midterms also asked, 'Ma'am, why are there no triangle kimbap? How long will that logistics thing go on? I heard someone even died.' It jolted me to realize that all the media are focused only on casualties and not talking about the franchise owners who are suffering losses."
A went on, "Thousands, tens of thousands are victims of a collective action started for their own interests, but who will recognize the position of small self-employed owners? Isn't this exactly the case of a shrimp's back breaking in a whale fight?"
A lamented, "What started as turning customers away for a day or two while saying, 'It should be fine tomorrow,' is nearing two weeks. The start of the hot season is peak season for convenience stores, and the thought of taking heavy losses at this crucial time makes me burn with anger dozens of times a day." A added, "All I've done is operate diligently and faithfully according to company rules, yet I've lost so much motivation that I'm considering my future path. How do you think it feels to watch a customer I turned away walk straight to the convenience store next door?"
Earlier, delivery drivers with the CU chapter of the Cargo Solidarity launched an all-out strike on the 7th and have been blocking some logistics centers and ready-meal factories. As the logistics disruptions persisted, CU franchise owners knelt in front of the main gate of the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 16th to ask for the strike to end.