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Gov't to revise distribution industry act to address imbalances between online, offline businesses

Published: 09 Feb. 2026, 18:39

Workers classify parcels at a logistics center in southern Seoul. [YONHAP]

The Democratic Party (DP), the government and the Blue House decided to revise the Distribution Industry Development Act at a high-level policy meeting at the prime minister’s official residence in Samcheong-dong, central Seoul, on Sunday, DP spokesperson Park Soo-hyun said during a briefing on Monday.

“Given the rapid changes in the distribution environment, including the growing share of online sales, the government concluded that the current regulatory framework, which is centered on offline retail, needs to be improved,” Park said. “We agreed to push ahead with revising the Distribution Industry Development Act.”

He added that existing business-hour regulations under the law were introduced when offline retail dominated the market and do not apply to e-commerce companies.

“We shared the view that regulatory imbalances between online and offline businesses should be addressed to create a fair competitive environment,” he said.

Under the current law, hypermarkets are subject to business-hour restrictions from midnight to 10 a.m. That restriction prevents them from offering early morning delivery services, even as online retailers, including Coupang, operate such services without limits. The disparity has fueled complaints of unfair treatment.

The government also agreed to swiftly prepare measures to strengthen competitiveness in the distribution industry while protecting and supporting traditional markets and neighborhood commercial districts. They also plan to discuss steps to protect the rights of delivery workers.

Separately, the government decided to move quickly to establish a real estate supervision agency under the Office for Government Policy Coordination and to propose related legislative revisions later this month.

Park said the new agency would conduct direct investigations and probes into major cases, such as violations of laws spanning multiple ministries, based on information provided by the relevant authorities.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM JI-HYE [[email protected]]