The current act prescribes that a person who intends to open a superstore or quasi-superstore in any traditional commerce preservation area shall register with the Mayor of the Special Self-governing City or head of si/gun/gu, appending a regional cooperation plan before starting the business, but it is at his/her discretion to include matters such as collaborative cooperation with small- and medium-sized local distributors and the vitalization of local employment, and as a result of checking the implementation performance of the regional cooperation plan, if it is insufficient, improvement recommendation is not mandatory. Therefore, the implementation performance evaluation and inspection system are ineffective.

In addition, since the current Act only requires that any person who allows another person to use the name of a certified distribution manager that performs tasks such as planning/investigation/research related to distribution administration and management or who lends the certificate to another person is disposed to suspend the certificate up to six months, the voice of strengthening punishment is growing, and there are also opinions on the adjustment of the deviations of statutory punishment in accordance with the recommendations of the 2013 National Assembly Council on the Reorganization of Statutory Punishment in relation to the fines when disclosing distribution information.

Therefore, this amendment aims to include matters such as collaborative cooperation with local small- and medium-sized distributors and vitalization of local employment in the regional cooperation plan and secure its effectiveness by allowing the target/details of the improvement recommendation and the compliance order being published or issued progressively if a superstore, etc., fails to comply with any improvement recommendation without justifiable grounds.

Details

A. Aim to include matters such as collaborative cooperation with local small- and medium-sized distributors and the vitalization of local employment in the regional cooperation plan, regulary check the implementation performance of the plan, and secure its effectiveness by allowing the target/details of the improvement recommendation and the compliance order being published or issued progressively where a superstore, etc., fails to comply with any improvement recommendation without justifiable grounds(Article 8-2). 

B. Prohibit the acts to allow another person to use the name of a certified distribution manager or the acts to lend the certificate to or borrow it from another person and sentence any person who violates this with imprisonment with labor up to one year or a fine not exceeding 10 million won (Article 24-2 and Article 49 (3) 1 and 2 newly inserted). 

C. Increase the upper limit of fines for disclosing distribution information from 10 million won to 30 million won (Article 50) 

Prohibition of lending the names of certified distribution managers (Article 24-2)