Recently, the urban environment has changed, and gentrification, where middle or upper class people move into underdeveloped parts of the city center, improving the area’s residential environment while forcing the original residents to relocate somewhere else due to subsequently rising land prices, is taking place in local commercial areas.

Commercial area gentrification brings a bad outcome to landlords, tenants, business owners, and other local community stakeholders as merchants, craftspeople, and artists who have contributed to the formation of a unique commercial area lose their place of living due to rising rent, and the introduction of large companies’ featureless stores and large franchises takes away the unique features of the original commercial area.

To prevent commercial area gentrification, it is most important to establish cooperative interests in coexistence and shared growth between landlords, tenants, business owners, and other local community stakeholders.

In this regard, this Act aims to promote cooperative interests in coexistence and shared growth between local community stakeholders, prevent gentrification in local commercial areas, and encourage the continuous development of unique culture and the promotion of the local economy by boosting the commercial area in a declining old city center.

Details

A. Aim to contribute to boosting the local economy and promoting balanced development in people’s economy by facilitating mutual cooperation between members of the local commercial area and defining matters required for the operation of self-sufficient and self-reliant commercial areas (Article 1)

B. Require the Minister of SMEs and startups to establish and implement a comprehensive local commercial area coexistence and promotion plan every 3 years for the systematic development of the promotion area (Article 6)

C. Require any person prescribed by Presidential Decree such as merchants or tenants doing regular business in stores in an area to be designated as a local coexistence area or the autonomous commercial area under Article 15 to enter into a coexistence contract for local coexistence development (Article 10)

D. Establish a Local Commercial Area Committee in the Special Metropolitan City, Metropolitan City, Metropolitan Autonomous City, Do, and Special Self-Governing Province to review matters for the designation, change, or termination of the promotion area (Article 11)

E. Define matters for the designation and operation of a local coexistence area (Articles 12 through 14)

F. Define matters for the designation and operation of autonomous commercial areas (Articles 15 through 26)

G. Define special cases for promotion areas such as commercial building lease contracts, affiliated parking lot installation, and partner stores for Onnuri Gift Certificates (Articles 27 through 31)

H. Prepare a basis for designating a professional agency to support project work in the promotion area (Article 32)

coexistence contract (Article 10), the application and designation of a local coexistence area (Article 12), establishment and operation of the Local Coexistence Council (Article 14), application and designation of an autonomous commercial area (Article 15), establishment and composition of the Preparation Committee (Article 17), work and dissolution of the Preparation Committee (Article 18), establishment of an autonomous commercial area union (Article 19), cancellation of approval for the autonomous commercial area union (Article 20), registration of a professional manager in a commercial area (Article 24), and types of restricted businesses (Article 31)