Koreans and anyone who has lived in South Korea for some time would probably be familiar with how “super supermarkets” (SSMs) close every other Sunday biweekly. It goes without saying that many have found themselves facing the disappointing “closed” sign at the entrance of nearby supermarkets, namely Homeplus, Emart, Lotte Mart, and Costco at least once. 11 years ago, it was made mandatory for SSMs to have fixed closing dates to boost sales at traditional markets and small shops. Although the mandated closing dates may have hindered some consumers’ footsteps toward visiting major supermarket chains on that day, does it truly mean that they will take the trouble and head to a traditional market instead?

The start of this grocery shopping enigma dates back to 2012, when the Korean government took the matter into its own hands to maintain and nurture small businesses, which were being increasingly threatened by conglomerate-owned SSMs expanding their businesses. With the ultimate goal of “ensuring the efficient promotion and balanced development of the distribution industry,” the National Assembly passed an amendment to the Distribution Industry Development Act to have fixed opening hours from 10:00 A.M. to 12:00 A.M. and imposed two mandatory closing days a month.

The closure of SSMs on every other Sunday is arguably in the best interests of the general public, as it acts as a safety net for local small businesses and traditional markets, successfully safeguarding many business owners’ interests. It also provides SSM employees who are often overworked with a day off once every two weeks, protecting their health alongside their rights to rest and spend leisure time on a Sunday.

However, the question of whether this system is effective in influencing consumers to visit local shops is worth asking. According to Statistics Korea, the proportion held by small shops and traditional markets in overall retail sales dropped from 40.7 percent in 2012, the year when the amendment was enforced, to 32.2 percent in 2021. Additionally, the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) mentioned in a January 2021 research report that only 8.3 percent of respondents said that they visited small neighborhood shops and traditional markets when SSMs were closed.

Moreover, consumers are shopping online more frequently due to its convenience. With the surge and development of online grocery shopping platforms such as Coupang and Market Kurly, fresh produce can easily be ordered and delivered to one’s home at a specific time of one’s choice. This increasing tendency to utilize electronic commerce (e-commerce) retailers has only been exacerbated by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, and data from Statistics Korea backs up this notion as sales increased more than 448 percent in 2020. As online market sales are gradually taking up a bigger share, offline shops are no longer in competition with one another as the retail market is disrupted by e-commerce giants; in other words, Korea’s own version of “the Amazon effect is the new Wal-Mart effect” is taking place.

It is important to remember that the 11-year-old SSM shutdown rules were first introduced to protect the interests of small shop owners and traditional markets. Yet, in the long run, if SSMs were to gradually close business with the rise of e-commerce, social minorities such as the elderly, who struggle with the use of smartphones, may find it difficult to adjust to this new change. Even though it seems hard to abolish it completely, especially with SSM employees protesting for their rights to rest, it may be time for the government to consider revision and deregulation based on different neighborhood situations, all things considered.