韩国超市合作社有条件接受大型商超凌晨配送，但仍取决于5000亿韩元扶持方案入法

The Korea Supermarket Cooperative Federation has asked the government to spend 500 billion won ($360 million) over five years to strengthen the digital competitiveness of small neighborhood retailers. The federation says it will accept predawn delivery by large discount stores if the request is granted. Small business groups have until now spoken with one voice against allowing such deliveries, making the shift a notable, if partial, change in position.
The federation recently submitted a cooperation proposal to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, calling for the pending revision of the Distribution Industry Development Act to include measures promoting the digital transition of neighborhood grocery stores, along with a provision establishing grounds for state funding, according to industry sources on the 1st.
The proposal specifically calls for 500 billion won over the next five years to fund a dedicated "one-hour express grocery shopping" category for neighborhood stores within public delivery apps run by local governments; real-time linkage between point-of-sale and inventory management systems and those public apps to make ordering easier; zero delivery fees underwritten by the central and local governments; and shared bundled-delivery infrastructure that neighborhood merchants such as side-dish shops and rice-cake stores can use together.
The federation said that if the proposal is adopted, small neighborhood retailers would gain digital competitiveness on par with Naver Shopping and Coupang. If the cooperation plan is written into law, it said, it will conditionally accept predawn delivery by large discount stores, which it has opposed until now.
In May, the federation expressed regret and demanded the withdrawal of a bill submitted to a National Assembly subcommittee that would ease restrictions on late-night operating hours for large discount stores and permit predawn delivery. "Online shopping has become the mainstream, and with predawn delivery now a central issue, consumers can no longer give it up," a federation official said. "We have come to recognize that the times are changing."
The official added: "Rather than opposing the easing of predawn delivery rules unconditionally, our ultimate goal is to have the tilt of the playing field corrected. Nothing has changed about the broad principle of building a healthy ecosystem and mutual growth, but on the question of how, we have become considerably more flexible."
The Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise and the Korea Merchants Association, which had joined the federation in voicing opposition, said their stance remains unchanged. The merchants association stressed that "things could change depending on how the situation develops, but our position is no different from when we came out against predawn delivery by large discount stores." The micro enterprise federation said it "has no choice but to consider the impact that permitting predawn delivery by large discount stores would have on every small business sector and on neighborhood commercial districts," adding that its position has not changed.