One Week Left Until the Last Extraordinary Session of the 21st National Assembly
Related Standing Committees Have Not Set Schedules for Review
Ruling and Opposition Parties at Odds... Agreement Before General Election Unlikely
With about a week left until the final extraordinary session of the 21st National Assembly, discussions on amending the Distribution Industry Development Act to ease mandatory closure regulations for large discount stores remain at a standstill. As both ruling and opposition parties enter election mode ahead of the general election in April, these amendment bills face the risk of automatic expiration with the end of the 21st National Assembly's term.
According to the National Assembly's Industry, Trade, Energy, Small and Medium Enterprises Committee on the 21st, the ruling and opposition party secretaries were scheduled to meet on the 19th to discuss the legislative schedule for reviewing the Distribution Industry Development Act and other bills, but the meeting was postponed just before it was to take place. This was due to the urgent candidate selection processes underway in each party with the general election three months away. The ruling and opposition party secretaries of the Industry Committee have yet to agree on the committee schedule.
The Distribution Industry Development Act regulates mandatory closure on public holidays and operating hours for large discount stores. It has been in effect since 2013 to revitalize traditional markets and local small businesses. However, there has been ongoing criticism that these operating restrictions have led to rapid growth in the online market and negatively impacted traditional markets. The government is also pursuing measures to reform lifestyle regulations, including abolishing the mandatory closure regulation for large discount stores on public holidays and allowing online deliveries during restricted early morning hours.
Currently, two amendment bills to the Distribution Industry Development Act, proposed by Rep. Lee Jong-bae and Rep. Ko Yong-jin of the People Power Party, are pending in the Industry, Trade, Energy, and Patent Subcommittee of the Industry Committee. Both amendments include provisions to exempt large discount stores and quasi-large stores (corporate supermarkets, SSM) from mandatory closure if they register as mail-order businesses and operate online shopping.
Rep. Lee Jong-bae’s bill has been discussed seven times since it was submitted to the subcommittee in November 2020, and Rep. Ko Yong-jin’s bill has been reviewed three times since November 2021, but no agreement has been reached. Opposition party lawmakers have opposed easing the operating restrictions. According to the subcommittee meeting minutes from November 22 last year, when these amendments were last discussed, Rep. Park Young-soon of the Democratic Party expressed concern about allowing early morning online deliveries by large discount stores, stating, "Although they did not participate in the coexistence council, organizations representing small business owners have raised issues," and warned, "If related bills pass without precise coexistence measures, mandatory closure will ultimately be nullified."
Following this, Rep. Kim Hoe-jae of the Democratic Party also voiced strong opposition, saying, "If online delivery by large discount stores is allowed, local small businesses will be further devastated," and added, "Without protection measures for local small businesses, if only the unfair competition between Coupang and large discount stores is discussed, it will be difficult to find a solution."
This extraordinary session, the last before the general election, will conclude with a plenary session on the 29th of this month. To abolish the mandatory closure for large discount stores, these bills must pass through the Industry Committee subcommittee, the full committee, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, and then be voted on in the National Assembly plenary session. However, given the significant disagreements starting from the subcommittee stage, it is likely that the bills will not be processed in the final plenary session of the extraordinary session.
While the bills could be expedited through agreement between the ruling and opposition floor leaders, it is expected to be difficult as the operating restrictions on large discount stores could become a contentious issue in the general election. A staff member from a ruling party lawmaker’s office in the Industry Committee said, "Since the positions of both parties are very polarized, we are placing our hopes on negotiations between the floor leaders," but added, "With the general election approaching, this could become a political issue, so it is not an easy situation."
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