Lower Delivery App and Mobile Gift Card Fees, Prevent 'No-Shows'

Government Holds 'Small Business and Local Market Livelihood Forum'
Delivery App Commission Reduction and Mobile Gift Certificate Improvement
Strengthening Relief for Small Business Livelihood Damage Including No-Show Prevention
Discussion on Private-Led Local Market Revitalization Measures

The government has taken measures to boost the vitality of small business owners and foster neighborhood commercial districts. By lowering delivery app fees and mobile gift certificate fees, the burden on small business owners will be eased. Additionally, there are plans to prevent regional extinction by revitalizing local commercial districts through private sector initiatives.

On the 2nd, the government held the 'Small Business Owners and Local Commercial Districts Livelihood Forum: Small Business Owners and Self-Employed Running Again, Vibrant Neighborhood Commercial Districts' at the Art Center Goma in Gongju, Chungnam. About 80 participants including small business owners, commercial district planners, academics, experts, government officials, and local governments attended. Discussions and responses were conducted on three detailed topics: restoring warmth through robust support for small business owners, strengthening relief measures for the four major livelihood damages faced by small business owners, and more.

President Yoon Suk-yeol is holding a public discussion on livelihood titled "Small Business Owners and Self-Employed Running Again, Vibrant Neighborhood Commercial Districts" with the people at Art Center Goma in Gongju, Chungnam on the 2nd. Photo by Yonhap News

Reducing Management Burden through Support for Delivery App and Mobile Gift Certificate Fees

The government will reduce the management burden on small business owners and self-employed individuals by easing delivery app fees and improving the transaction environment in the mobile gift certificate market. First, by implementing the win-win plan prepared through the 'Delivery Platform-Merchant Win-Win Council,' the brokerage fees paid by small business owners to delivery apps will be reduced to 2.0?7.8%.

The burden of using delivery apps will be reduced by more than 30% over three years for stores in the bottom 20% of delivery sales, and the ‘0% brokerage fee traditional market shopping service’ piloted by Baedal Minjok this year will be expanded nationwide to traditional markets. Additionally, consumers will be clearly informed of brokerage fees, payment fees, and delivery charges on receipts.

The transaction environment in the mobile gift certificate market will also be improved. The 'Mobile Gift Certificate Public-Private Council' has derived a win-win plan to promote ▲ lowering the fees borne by franchise owners (currently about 5?14%) ▲ shortening the mobile gift certificate settlement cycle (currently about 60 days) ▲ increasing the consumer refund rate (currently 90% → revised to 95%).

Strengthening Relief for the Four Major Livelihood Damages Including ‘No-Shows’

Efforts will be made to strengthen relief for chronic problems small business owners face in daily life.

First, when disposable items are used in stores due to customer change of mind, concerns about fines imposed on business operators will be addressed by clearly defining the exemption acts for business operators so that they do not receive fines.

Also, damage to small business owners and self-employed individuals caused by poor promotion or refund refusal by online advertising and marketing companies such as social networking services (SNS) will be prevented. For example, when an advertising agency concluded an advertising contract with a small business owner by presenting false advertising cases but did not execute the advertisement, disputes arose, and there was no legal binding force, making dispute resolution difficult.

To address such damages, the government plans to establish legal grounds for the 'Online Advertising Dispute Mediation Committee,' which is currently installed and operating, by the end of 2025, thereby strengthening the legal binding force of damage mediation and enhancing practical support for damages.

Measures will also be taken to prevent damages to small business owners caused by so-called ‘no-shows,’ where customers do not show up after making restaurant reservations. The consumer dispute resolution standards related to no-shows will be revised by the first half of next year, considering the characteristics of various dining industry sectors, setting specific penalty fee standards and types of imposition so that small business owners can be adequately compensated for damages caused by no-shows.

Support will be provided to prevent and eradicate damages related to malicious reviews and comments on small business establishments. A 'Small Business Livelihood Damage Response Team' will be formed through a government-wide joint effort to check the difficulties faced by small business owners and review policy and system improvements.

Enhancing Regional Vitality through Private-Led Commercial District Revitalization

The government plans to prevent regional extinction and invigorate the local economy by revitalizing commercial districts led by the private sector.

Creative small business owners (local creators) who turn the region’s charm and identity into content will be nurtured into enterprises (local brands), and the commercial districts they actively participate in will be developed into glocal commercial districts. The goal is to nurture about 5,000 entrepreneurial small business owners based on creativity by 2027.

To enable the private sector to independently develop and revitalize commercial districts, a new set of three private-centered local commercial district initiatives will be introduced. The commercial district planner system will be introduced to support private-led planning and execution of commercial district development strategies, small business incubation, and investment in commercial districts and small business owners. The government plans to nurture 1,000 commercial district planning professionals by 2027.

Additionally, focusing on areas with population decline, support will be provided to establish and expand commercial district development funds that can be used for joint projects for commercial district development, small business incubation, and capacity building. Investment inflows that attract and nurture commercial district entities such as creative and innovative small business owners and local small and venture companies will be promoted to support private-led commercial district development.

Moreover, along with traditional commercial districts (traditional markets, shopping streets, etc.), emerging neighborhood commercial districts mainly in residential areas will be nurtured as representative local commercial districts. To this end, the enforcement decree will be revised to significantly relax the store number criteria under the Commercial District Revitalization Act (from 100 to 50 stores) so that these districts can participate in commercial district revitalization projects.

President Yoon Suk-yeol said, "I hope this livelihood forum helps boost the morale of small business owners and the self-employed," adding, "I hope related agencies continuously identify and proactively resolve damage cases that make small business owners, already exhausted from their livelihoods, suffer twice and lose strength."