Namsa Hansup, Oedae Global-gil, Sinbong Hanaro, Idong, and Others
14 Areas Benefit from Relaxed Designation Requirements After the 8th Popularly Elected Administration
As recently as September last year, there were no 'alley-type shopping districts' in the Yongin area of Gyeonggi Province. Now, that number has increased to 14. After the launch of the 8th popularly elected administration, the relaxation of designation requirements has allowed many small shop clusters to benefit from Onnuri gift certificate affiliation.
On July 17, the Yongin city government announced that it had designated four new dense shop areas as 'alley-type shopping districts': Namsa Hansup (Agok-ri, Namsa-eup, No. 11), Oedae Global-gil (Wangsan-ri, Mohyeon-eup, No. 12), Sinbong Hanaro (Sinbong-dong, Suji-gu, No. 13), and Idong (Cheon-ri, Idong-eup, No. 14).
Both 'Namsa Hansup' and 'Oedae Global-gil' are areas where about 180 shops are concentrated. In 'Sinbong Hanaro' and 'Idong', there are about 130 and 116 shops, respectively.
Once designated as an alley-type shopping district, the area receives support equivalent to that of a traditional market. Shops can register as Onnuri gift certificate affiliates, and the local currency sales threshold is eased from 1.2 billion won to 3 billion won in annual sales. These districts can also participate in various public projects, such as commercial district revitalization and environmental improvement support, which is expected to boost the local economy.
As of September last year, there were no alley-type shopping districts in Yongin. This was due to the strict designation requirements. It was difficult to meet the condition of 'at least 30 shops within an area of 2,000 square meters.'
The breakthrough came when the city eased the designation requirements. Yongin amended its 'Ordinance for the Promotion of Traditional Markets and Shopping Districts.' Under the revised ordinance, in commercial areas, at least 25 shops within 2,000 square meters are required, and outside commercial areas, at least 20 shops within the same area are sufficient for designation.
With the relaxed requirements, the designation of alley-type shopping districts accelerated. After Bojeong-dong Cafe Street (Boka) in Giheung-gu was first designated in October last year, 14 areas have benefited from the eased requirements in just 10 months, including the most recent designations.
Lee Sangil, Mayor of Yongin, stated, "As a result of actively easing the designation requirements and identifying eligible areas for alley-type shopping districts, we are pleased to be able to help many self-employed people and small business owners." He added, "We will continue to discover alley-type shopping districts that reflect the local identity and support specialized projects for each commercial area so that the achievements of the 8th popularly elected administration can continue."
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