In April 2021, the government reconsidered the introduction of a mandatory closure system to multiple shopping malls such as Starfield and Lotte Mall. The government introduced a mandatory closing system for large supermarkets in 2012 because of the coexistence of small business owners. For the same reason, the National Assembly is discussing a revision to the Distribution Industry Development Act, which requires shopping malls to rest twice a month on holidays like large supermarket. However, it is predicted that the mandatory closure system for multiple shopping malls will also inconvenience consumers and be ineffective. Therefore, the mandatory closure system for shopping malls should not be introduced.

    First, the effect of regulation on multiple shopping malls is uncertain. According to the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, sales in the entire distribution industry increased 43.3 percent from 2012 to 2019, during which time the mandatory closure system for large supermarkets was implemented. However, sales at retailers, including traditional markets, increased only 28 percent. It is far below the overall industry growth rate. That means the government's purpose of revitalizing the traditional market has not been successful. In addition, in a survey by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry on July 26th, only 12.6% of the respondents said that they would use traditional markets if shopping malls were closed. Second, the compulsory closure system for multiple shopping malls encourages employment difficulties. A typical shopping mall will employ 5,000 to 6,000 people. In fact, Lotte World Mall hired 6000 people in 2014 the time when it was grand-opened. However, according to a survey of 300 small business owners based in multiple shopping malls by the Korea Economic Research Institute, sales decreased by 5.1% and employment by 4.0% on average when regulations were enforced on shopping malls. Third, it damages self-employed people who entered the shopping mall. According to the Korea Economic Research Institute's survey on the composition of tenants of shopping malls in Korea, a total of 883 out of 1,295 stores in shopping malls are run by self-employed people, accounting for 68 percent of all stores. Therefore, the loss caused by a shopping mall being closed twice a month goes to the self-employed. The purpose of the government's introduction of the system was to protect alley businesses, but this system creates an irony in which other small business owners suffer loss.

    Regulations on complex shopping malls not only make shopping inconvenient for consumers, but also greatly affect the decline in sales of merchants in multiple shopping malls. Therefore, the mandatory closure system for shopping malls should not be introduced.