hankyoreh

Oct 14.

By Kwon O-sung, staff reporter

It was the morning of Oct. 14 at Costco’s Yangjae branch in Seoul’s Seocho district. Ten or so men wearing suits and rigid expressions strode purposefully among the middle-aged women getting shopping carts and made their way to the entrance. It was the third time the US members’ only wholesaler flouted a city ordinance requiring it to close its doors on the second and fourth Sundays of the month. The city responded by sending teams of 19 officials to the three Costco branches in Seoul (in Yangpyeong, Yangjae, and Sangbong) to conduct close inspections.

The teams split into twos and threes to look at seven different areas, including fire safety, food, and the architectural structures. There was a bit of a dustup at the Yangpyeong store in Yeongdeungpo district when company employees tried to prevent reporters from coming in with cameras, but the atmosphere for the inspections was relatively calm. Wearing sanitary caps, the inspectors went into the meat processing areas as part of their careful inspection of food safety. Customers whispered that the place looked emptier than usual because of their special visit.

The major local retailers (or SSMs) successfully appealed the ordinance in court. The ordinance was enacted to protect small neighborhood commercial zones, but was ruled unjust by in municipal court. Costco, which did not participate in the lawsuit, resumed operation as well, citing issues of “fairness.”

According to the Distribution Industry Development Act, local governments can assess a maximum of 30 million won (US$27,000) in fines for such violations. From the perspective of Costco, which racks up 1.3 billion won (US$1,170,000) in sales a day at its Yangjae store alone, it’s worth it to keep the doors open. Without any effective means of punishment at its disposal, the city opted for inspections. The Oct. 14 visit was the second of the month.

Some industry observers suggested the city is going overboard in its administrative measures.

The Citizens’ Headquarters for Economic Democracy, a group composed of merchants and civic groups from around the country, staged a press conference on the same day in front of Costco’s Yangpyeong store to decry the store’s continued operation, saying it “shows that the SSMs have no intention of cooperating for shared gains” between the rich and poor. The group demanded that the Distribution Act be amended to include stronger punishments for violations.

Lee Jun-hyeong, head of the Seoul’s team for shared gains cooperation, said the inspections need to be made into a permanent option rather than a one-off approach through National Assembly legislation.

The city discovered 14 violations on Oct. 14. It currently plans to suspend operations for the meat sections at the Sangbong and Yangjae branches, which were found to have violated regulations on the standard preservation temperature.

Meanwhile, Seoul’s Gangseo district and three districts in Daegu amended ordinances to resume compulsory days off, bringing the total percentage of superstores closed to over 10%. Industry statistics showed 42 of the country’s 375 supermarkets, or 11.2%, to have been closed on Sunday Oct. 14. The rate was close to 80% on the second Sunday in July before falling as low as 5% when courts nationwide accepted the injunction ruling against enforcing related ordinances.

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