Cheongju City Changes on Wednesday, Busan Also Actively Discussing Transition
Daegu City’s weekday conversion of mandatory closure days for large marts, implemented nationwide for the first time, is spreading across the country.
On February 10, Daegu City completed administrative procedures including public notice and opinion gathering from eight districts and counties, and through the deliberation of the Distribution Industry Win-Win Development Council, it changed the mandatory closure days for large marts from the second and fourth Sundays of each month to Mondays. This was the first implementation of such a change at the metropolitan city level nationwide, aiming to establish a sound distribution order and promote the mutual development of small and medium distribution businesses.
Analyzing the effects six months after converting the mandatory closure days to weekdays, sales of major retail businesses (excluding large marts, SSMs, and shopping centers) such as supermarkets and restaurants increased by 19.8% compared to the same period last year, while sales of large marts and SSMs rose by 6.6%. In particular, restaurants and convenience stores showed significant sales growth of 25.1% and 23.1%, respectively, compared to other industries.
This retail sales growth rate showed a considerable difference compared to neighboring local governments that maintain Sunday as the mandatory closure day, such as Busan at 16.5%, Gyeongbuk at 10.3%, and Gyeongnam at 8.3%.
Additionally, an analysis of sales in traditional markets within Daegu City showed that most traditional markets experienced increased sales compared to the previous year. The sales growth rate on the second and fourth Sundays and Mondays was 34.7%, about 2.4% higher than the overall period’s growth rate of 32.3%, indicating that the weekday conversion of mandatory closure days positively impacted traditional market sales.
In a satisfaction survey regarding the weekday conversion, only 75 out of 600 respondents (12.5%) answered that it was “not favorable,” demonstrating that the weekday conversion of mandatory closure days for large marts significantly improved shopping convenience for Daegu citizens. An analysis of local retail and restaurant usage also showed that strengthened local consumption by Daegu citizens had a positive effect on the overall regional economy.
As positive effects from the weekday conversion of mandatory closure days for large marts have appeared in Daegu, this trend is spreading nationwide.
Cheongju City in Chungbuk changed the mandatory closure day for large marts to Wednesday and has been implementing it since May 10. Seocho District in Seoul held a win-win agreement ceremony with the distribution industry on the 19th and plans to change the mandatory closure day for large marts to a weekday starting at the end of January next year, becoming the first among Seoul’s 25 districts to do so.
Also, the Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, based on a survey showing that over 64% of Busan citizens perceive the mandatory closure regulation for large marts as unnecessary, has submitted a proposal to change the closure day to Busan City and 16 districts and counties. Discussions on changing the mandatory closure day for large marts are actively underway in Busan as well.
Daegu City plans to actively provide policy support to minimize side effects from the mandatory closure of large marts, strengthen the competitiveness of local small and medium distribution beyond one-time social contribution efforts, and discover and promote various win-win projects through voluntary cooperation among distribution companies so that large, medium, and small offline distribution in the region can grow together sustainably.
Jung Jang-su, Deputy Mayor for Economic Affairs of Daegu City, said, “With municipalities in Seoul also implementing weekday conversion of mandatory closure days for large marts, Daegu’s representative regulatory innovation success case is gaining renewed attention.” He added, “We will continue to do our best for Daegu’s economic revitalization and Daegu’s rise through bold and innovative reforms that break existing frameworks.”
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