Troubling signs are being detected in the policy to allow early morning delivery by large supermarkets. Concerns are emerging that the government and political circles may be backtracking on their commitment to regulatory reform. According to political sources, it has been reported that the Democratic Party of Korea's Euljiro Committee recently discussed a plan to exclude fresh food from large supermarket early morning deliveries. This comes just two weeks after the ruling party and government announced they would lift the 14-year ban on early morning delivery for large supermarkets. With traditional markets and small business owners raising expected objections in the name of livelihood protection, there is a possibility that politicians are calculating votes with local elections just around the corner.
Fresh food accounts for 40% of total sales at major large supermarkets such as E-Mart and Lotte Mart. Early morning delivery without fresh food is tantamount to going to war without a weapon. The primary reason individuals and restaurant operators use early morning delivery is to obtain fresh ingredients for the breakfast table. If only manufactured goods are delivered without fresh food, consumers would have no reason to use large supermarkets. It is obvious that a service incapable of "one-stop shopping" will be shunned by the market. This could ultimately result in discouraging large supermarkets from participating in the business altogether.
This confusion over the early morning delivery policy is reminiscent of the disastrous "Tada Ban Law" that killed innovative mobility services in the past. At that time, politicians blocked new services under the pretext of protecting the taxi industry. As a result, consumer benefits regressed and opportunities for innovation disappeared. If large supermarkets are once again hamstrung due to opposition from small business owners, it will only serve to further consolidate the dominance of certain e-commerce companies.
The amendment to the Distribution Industry Development Act was pursued with the aim of mitigating Coupang's monopoly and strengthening industry competition and consumer choice, but aligning regulations with the changing distribution environment where boundaries between online and offline have disappeared carries no small significance. The government and politicians must not attempt to avoid conflict with the stopgap measure of "excluding fresh food." The proper approach is to present solutions that can expand the overall pie of the distribution industry through coexistence with small business owners while respecting consumers' right to choose. Politics must never again stand in the way of innovation. Actively driving economic development is an important duty of politics.