Mandatory Holiday Changed to Second and Fourth Wednesday
“Large supermarkets in Jung-gu, Seoul, will now remain open on Sundays, becoming the third district in Seoul to do so after Seocho-gu and Dongdaemun-gu.”
“Jung-gu announced on the 15th that the mandatory holidays for large supermarkets and corporate supermarkets will be changed from the second and fourth Sundays of every month to the second and fourth Wednesdays. This will apply starting the fourth week of November.”
“The stores affected by this change include four locations: Lotte Mart Zeta Plex Seoul Station branch, E-Mart Cheonggyecheon branch, Homeplus Express Sindang branch, and No Brand Dongdaemun Doota Mall branch.”
“However, GS Supermarket Jung-gu Manli branch (GS The Fresh Seoul Station Central Xi branch) and GS Retail Namsan Town branch (GS The Fresh Namsan Town branch) will continue the existing Sunday mandatory closure based on store conditions.”
“A Jung-gu official explained the reason for the change, stating, ‘Forcing large supermarkets to close on Sundays does not help in revitalizing local markets; it only causes inconvenience to consumers.’”
“On the other hand, when Daegu city switched the mandatory holiday to a weekday in February last year and analyzed the effects over six months, they found an increase in sales not only for large supermarkets but also for retail businesses and traditional markets.”
“A Jung-gu official stated, ‘In the area around Kyungdong Market in Dongdaemun-gu, large supermarket customers on weekends are also visiting the market, fostering mutual coexistence.’”
“In the ‘Jung-gu Traditional Market Development Association’ general meeting last September, composed of market vendors in Jung-gu, 86% of members agreed to promote switching the mandatory holiday to weekdays, and they also requested measures for mutual growth.”
“Kim Gil-sung, the mayor of Jung-gu, stated, ‘Residents can now shop conveniently at large supermarkets and attractive traditional markets with more diverse shopping options,’ and expressed hope that this change in mandatory holidays will become an opportunity to inject vitality into the regional economy by fostering coexistence between large supermarkets and local markets.”