Jeong Hye-kyung, Progressive Party Lawmaker, Prepares to Propose Distribution Act Amendment
Opposition Parties Including Democratic Party in 22nd National Assembly Also 'Positive'
The Progressive Party is moving to legislate the mandatory closure of large supermarkets on public holidays. This is intended to fundamentally prevent local governments from converting mandatory holiday closures into weekdays according to government policy. The legislation will also include provisions to reduce the authority of local government heads regarding changes to business hours. With labor groups and opposition parties supporting stronger regulations on large supermarket operations, debates related to the designation of mandatory closure days are expected to intensify. The industry is concerned that additional regulations could further shrink an already struggling market and cause significant confusion among consumers.
According to political and retail industry sources on the 10th, Jeong Hye-kyung, a Progressive Party lawmaker, plans to propose an amendment to the Distribution Industry Development Act as early as this month to designate mandatory closure days for large supermarkets as Sundays and other public holidays, and to prevent local government heads from arbitrarily changing business hour restrictions.
Jung Hye-kyung, a lawmaker from the Progressive Party, is speaking at the press conference titled "Guarantee Sunday for Mart Workers! Stop Night Work! Urging Amendment of the Distribution Industry Development Act," held on the 5th in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News
Earlier, Jeong attended a press conference held on the 5th in front of the National Assembly by the Mart Industry Labor Union under the Service Federation of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, where she criticized government policy, saying, "Just as our weekends are precious, the weekends of workers who work on Sundays are also precious," and added, "For someone's work-life balance, female workers, low-wage workers, and non-regular workers are forced to work on Sundays and nights."
The opposition parties are also reportedly generally in favor of this amendment. Since the opening of the 22nd National Assembly, the Mart Union has sent inquiries regarding mandatory closure and distribution law amendments to all parties in the assembly. Heo Young-ho, the Mart Union's secretary-general, said, "The Democratic Party, Progressive Party, Basic Income Party, and Social Democratic Party have expressed support for strengthening regulations to designate mandatory closure days as public holidays in principle and reducing the authority of local government heads," adding, "The Innovation Party delayed delivering the inquiry due to internal circumstances but has expressed willingness to respond after review, while the People Power Party has not stated its position on the inquiry."
The current Distribution Industry Development Act allows heads of basic local governments such as mayors, county governors, and district heads to designate two public holidays per month as mandatory closure days for large supermarkets and to designate weekdays as mandatory closure days through agreement with stakeholders. It also prohibits business operations from midnight to 10 a.m., making early morning deliveries impossible.
However, starting with Daegu, cities such as Cheongju in Chungbuk, Seocho-gu and Dongdaemun-gu in Seoul, and Busan have changed mandatory closure days to weekdays through ordinances and local government notices. Additionally, the Seoul Metropolitan Council recently excluded online delivery from large supermarket business hour restrictions, and Seocho-gu announced an administrative notice to change the business restriction hours for large supermarkets and semi-large stores (SSM) from the previous midnight to 8 a.m. (8 hours) to 2 a.m. to 3 a.m. (1 hour).
The Mart Union plans to hold a rally in front of the National Assembly on the 22nd of this month to support the amendment of the distribution law. This rally will be part of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions' nationwide workers' rally. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions has also announced a demonstration related to the minimum wage increase. Secretary-General Heo said, "To ensure workers can rest on Sundays, various legislative supplements such as amendments to the Labor Standards Act are necessary," and added, "We plan to maintain continuous contact with the political sphere to improve the overall system."
The large supermarket industry has expressed great concern over these developments. A representative from a large supermarket said, "The political sphere and labor unions are well aware that the offline market is struggling greatly due to competition from e-commerce," and pointed out, "Additional regulations will further shrink the market, which is already in a difficult situation, even if regulations are lifted."
Concerns have also been raised about inevitable confusion among consumers. If the amendment passes, all large supermarkets, including those in Gyeonggi-do currently observing weekday closures, will have to switch to public holiday closures. Another large supermarket representative said, "If the amendment passes as is, all regions that have switched to weekday closures, including Gyeonggi-do, Seocho-gu and Dongdaemun-gu in Seoul, Daegu, and Busan, will have to switch to public holiday closures," adding, "This will cause inconvenience to consumers who have enjoyed convenient weekend shopping."
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