Will Mandatory Closure Days for Large Supermarkets Return to Public Holidays? [News Seolcham]

Debate Over Mandatory Public Holiday Closures for Large Supermarkets
Regulation on Public Holiday Closures, Eased Under Previous Administration, Faces Calls for Reinforcement
With Change in Administration, Calls Grow for "Mandatory Rest on Public Holidays"
Criticism Mounts Over Effectiveness Amid e-Commerce Growth

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A view of a domestic department store. The photo is not related to any specific expression in the article. Photo by Yonhap News

The mandatory closure day system for large supermarkets, now in its 12th year of implementation, has become a renewed subject of controversy as voices within the ruling party grow louder for making supermarket closure days mandatory on public holidays. The mandatory closure system, which was implemented in 2013, is based on the principle that large supermarkets must close twice a month on public holidays. However, the regulation has since been relaxed, allowing local governments to designate closure days on weekdays instead of public holidays at their discretion.

Large Supermarket Closure Days Relaxed to Weekdays... Will They Return to Public Holidays?

In March of this year, the Democratic Party included the statement "We will make supermarket closure days mandatory on public holidays" in its list of 20 key policy agendas for people's livelihoods. On June 10, Democratic Party lawmaker Oh Sehee also mentioned a bill to fix mandatory closure days for large supermarkets on public holidays during a media interview, stating, "Our party will handle this." In the National Assembly, a proposed amendment to the Distribution Industry Development Act has been submitted, stipulating that closure days, which had been relaxed to weekdays, must instead be designated from among public holidays.

Currently, large supermarkets can designate their mandatory closure days on weekdays, depending on the local government. When the system was first implemented in 2013, the principle was to designate only public holidays as mandatory closure days, so supermarkets were closed on the second and fourth Sundays of each month. However, during the administration of President Yoon Suk Yeol, this principle was abolished, expanding the discretionary power of local governments. Many major supermarket chains, such as Emart and Lotte Mart, are already implementing weekday closures.

The mandatory closure day system for large supermarkets in South Korea aligns with the trend of tightening regulations on large retailers. When the Distribution Industry Development Act was first enacted in 1997, its focus was on the development and promotion of the distribution industry. However, as the domestic retail environment shifted toward large-scale stores, the focus changed to regulation. The mandatory closure day system, implemented in 2013, was introduced as a regulatory measure to protect the right of supermarket workers to rest and to safeguard traditional markets.

In 2016, seven major supermarket chains, including Emart, filed a constitutional complaint, arguing that business regulations infringed on their freedom to conduct business. However, in June 2018, the Constitutional Court ruled the system constitutional, stating that it was "legislation aimed at preventing market order distortion caused by monopolies and oligopolies of large retailers."

"Protecting Small Business Owners" vs. "No Real Effect"

There is heated debate over the proposal to revert supermarket closure days to public holidays.

The Korea Federation of Micro Enterprises stated in a commentary last month, "Mandatory closure of large supermarkets on public holidays is the minimum safety net for protecting small business owners," and welcomed the legislative push to clearly institutionalize this measure. The Mart Workers' Union of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions Service Federation also argued, "Mandatory closure of supermarkets on two Sundays a month is the minimum required to protect small and medium-sized business owners from retail conglomerates and to guarantee workers' rights to health and rest."

There are also counterarguments that the regulation is ineffective and only benefits online e-commerce. On July 2, Professor Cho Chunhan of Gyeonggi University of Science and Technology stated on CBS Radio's "Kim Hyunjung's News Show" that "even objective data from Statistics Korea shows that since 2022, both large supermarkets and small business owners have seen declining sales," pointing out that closing supermarkets on public holidays has not strengthened the competitiveness of traditional commercial districts. Professor Cho explained, "Even if you add up the sales of the three leading domestic supermarket chains, the total is 37 trillion won, but Coupang has already reached 40 trillion won. With alternatives such as e-commerce, Daiso, and convenience stores, even if mandatory closure days are designated on weekends, consumers do not go to small business owners."

Meanwhile, other advanced countries that, like South Korea, had restricted large supermarket operations on public holidays have recently been easing such regulations in response to changing consumption patterns. Germany, which enacted the "Shop Closing Act" in 1956 to restrict store opening hours, has relaxed most restrictions in the majority of its states since 2006. France also eased weekend operating restrictions for large supermarkets through the so-called Macron Law in 2016. Japan, which introduced the Department Store Law in 1937 to restrict large store operations and protect small retailers, abolished the law in 2000 after much debate.