'Sungsimdang' 400 Million Won Monthly Rent Controversy... Korail Distribution: "17% of 2.5 Billion Won Sales, Not an Unreasonable Increase"

"Bid Amount Presented Based on the Same Criteria"

Amid suspicions that Seongsimdang Daejeon Station branch is at risk of being expelled due to unreasonable commission fees, Korail Distribution refuted, stating, "It is not true that the commission was unreasonably raised within one year."

Korail Distribution released a statement on the 17th, saying, "This store signed a lease contract with Korea Railroad Corporation in 2016 under a fixed rent payment method, and according to the auditor's opinion, it switched to a commission rate contract with Korail Distribution in April 2021," adding, "During this process, the store operated at a rate significantly lower than the minimum bid commission rate by mutual agreement between the contracting parties."

They continued, "Considering the need for fairness with other commercial facilities, the bidding announcement for business operators conducted before the expiration of the Seongsimdang contract presented bid amounts based on the same standards applied to all commercial facilities," they elaborated.

They also stated, "The method of paying commission based on sales according to the contract rate is widely used by many public institutions and distribution industries," and explained, "The commission rate can vary depending on various factors such as location conditions, business type, number of bidders, and economic situation, and the proposing business operator decides directly within the pre-notified minimum and maximum limits to participate in competitive bidding."

This is a clarification regarding the suspicion that Seongsimdang is at risk of expulsion due to unreasonable monthly commission fees. Last month, as the store operation contract of Seongsimdang Daejeon Station branch expired, Korail Distribution began competitive bidding to find a new business operator. Until now, the store had been paying about 100 million KRW in commission monthly, but Korail Distribution proposed a monthly commission of 441 million KRW for the store before the contract ended.

This sparked controversy over whether Korail Distribution set an unreasonable monthly rent and commission. However, Korail Distribution explained that the newly set monthly commission of about 440 million KRW is the result of applying the minimum commission rate of 17% to Seongsimdang's sales (monthly average of 2.598 billion KRW).

Meanwhile, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, on the same day, Minister Yoo In-chon visited the Seongsimdang Daejeon Station branch before attending the launch ceremony of the National Heritage Agency held at the Government Complex Daejeon. Minister Yoo said upon visiting the store, "Long-established stores in each region play a role as cultural tourist sites, and Daejeon's 'Seongsimdang' is exactly such a place," adding, "The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will look for ways to support."