Park Young-sun, former Seoul mayoral candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, working part-time at a convenience store as part of her election campaign on the 25th of last month. [Image source=Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Jumi Lee] It has been confirmed that the convenience store, which former Seoul mayoral candidate Park Young-sun of the Democratic Party of Korea proposed to automate, has ultimately closed down.
According to CU, the Hongdae Center branch in Mapo-gu, Seoul, closed on the 17th. The reason is reported to be the expiration of the lease contract.
CU stated, "The lease expired on the 18th," and added, "Due to the difficulties in the Hongdae commercial district caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it was decided to close the store."
Candidate Park began her campaign on the 25th of last month by experiencing part-time work at this convenience store. At that time, after hearing the hardships of young part-time workers, she told reporters, "If operated unmanned, it would be good for both the store owners and the part-time workers, so I proposed to the store owners to operate unmanned stores late at night."
Following this, criticism arose that Park's remarks failed to empathize with the difficulties faced by young people seeking jobs due to technological advancements. Park's camp explained, "We were discussing the proactive establishment of a system to prepare for job reductions in the era of unmanned convenience stores due to the development of AI (artificial intelligence)."
Additionally, on the 26th of last month, Park was involved in controversy after recommending an AI translation startup as a job to an aspiring interpreter during an election campaign event. This, combined with her earlier remarks about unmanned convenience stores, drew further attention and sparked debate.
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