ENFORCEMENT DECREE OF THE ACT ON COEXISTENCE AND REVITALIZATION OF LOCAL TRADING AREAS

Article 1(Purpose) #

The purpose of this Decree is to prescribe the matters mandated by the Act on Coexistence and Revitalization of Local Trading Areas and those necessary for the enforcement thereof.

Article 2(Standard for local coexistence zone) #

(1) "Number prescribed by Presidential Decree" in subparagraph 2b of Article 2 of the Act on the Coexistence and Revitalization of Local Trading Areas (hereinafter referred to as the "Act") and subparagraph 4b of that Article means 100 each (50 in the case of a depopulation area as defined in subparagraph 12 of Article 2 of the Special Act on Local Autonomy and Decentralization, and Balanced Regional Development). <Amended on Sep. 2, 2025>

(2) "Criteria prescribed by Presidential Decree" in subparagraph 2c of Article 2 of the Act means that the average rent of a commercial building in the zone intended to be designated as a local coexistence zone under Article 12 or the administrative Dong (referring to an administrative Dong referred to in Article 7(4) of the Local Autonomy Act; hereinafter the same shall apply) to which the relevant zone belongs has continued to rise for the latest two years, at the rate set under the proviso of Article 11(1) of the Commercial Building Lease Protection Act or a higher rate, which exceeds the rent rate prescribed by ordinance of a Special Self-Governing City, a Special Self-Governing Province, or a Si/Gun/Gu (referring to an autonomous Gu).

Article 3(Standard for autonomous trading zone) #

"Have decreased to or below the standard prescribed by Presidential Decree" in subparagraph 4c of the Act means that 2 items, out of the number of businesses, sales, and population of the zone intended to be designated as an autonomous trading zone under Article 15 of the Act or the administrative Dong to which the relevant zone belongs, have continued to drop for the latest 2 years on an annual average basis.

Article 4(Request for data) #

(1) Pursuant to Article 6(2) of the Act, the Minister of SMEs and Startups may request the heads of relevant central administrative agencies or the heads of local governments to submit the following data necessary for the formulation of a comprehensive plan for the coexistence and revitalization of local trading areas (hereinafter referred to as "comprehensive plan") under paragraph (1) of that Article:

1. Current status of support policies for local trading areas;

2. Performance in support for local trading areas;

3. Other data deemed by the Minister of SMEs and Startups for the formulation of a comprehensive plan.

(2) The head of a related central administrative agency or the head of a local government, in receipt of a request for data under paragraph (1), shall submit the relevant data to the Minister of SMEs and Startups within 60 days.

(3) Upon formulation of a comprehensive plan, the Minister of SMEs and Startups shall notify the head of the relevant central administrative agencies, the Special Metropolitan City Mayor, Metropolitan City Mayors, Special Self-Governing City Mayor, Do Governors, and Special Self-Governing Province Governor (hereinafter referred to as "Mayors/Do Governors").

Article 5(Request for submission of data for fact-finding survey) #

(1) The Minister of SMEs and Startups or a Mayor/Do Governor may request a person specified in the relevant subparagraph for the following data or information for fact- finding surveys under Article 8(1) of the Act:

1. The following information for which an application or report has been filed by a business entity with the head of the competent tax office under Articles 8(1) and (8),48,49, and 67 of the Value-Added Tax Act and Articles 78 and 168 of the Income Tax Act or those granted under Article 8(7) of the Value-Added Tax Act, which are taxation information under Article 81-13(1) of the Framework Act on National Taxes: The Commissioner of the National Tax Service:

a. Trade name, registration number, and revenue;

b. Locations of the places of business and business types;

c. Opening, temporary closure, permanent closure dates;

2. Other information as specified below: The head of the relevant central administrative agency, the head of a local government, the representative of a local coexistence council under Article 14 of the Act and the representative of an autonomous trading area association who has the relevant data or information:

a. Data or information regarding a place of business, for which authorization or permission is granted, by region;

b. Data or information regarding transportation, such as the number of subway users and the number of registered cars, by region;

c. Data or information regarding real estate, such as the status of lease of commercial buildings by region;

d. Data or information regarding business entities by region;

e. Other data or information deemed by the Minister of SMEs and Startups or a Mayor/Do Governor to be necessary for conducting a fact-finding survey on sales in a trading area and population, etc.

(2) No person who was or is in charge of fact-finding surveys shall use the data or information provided pursuant to paragraph (1) for any purpose other than the purpose for which they were provided, nor provide or disclose such data or information to any other person or institution.

Article 6(Conclusion of coexistence agreement) #

If a merchant conducting regular business at a store in the zone intended to be designated as a local coexistence zone under Article 12 of the Act or as an autonomous trading zone under Article 15 of the Act (hereinafter referred to as "regular business merchant"), a landlord, etc. wishes to conclude a coexistence agreement under Article 10(1) of the Act (hereinafter referred to as "coexistence agreement"), the following procedures shall be taken:

1. They shall collect opinions of regular business merchants, landlords, etc. in the relevant zone through surveys, public hearings, seminars, etc.;

2. They shall seek advice from experts, such as trading area managers or lawyers under the main clause of Article 24(1) of the Act;

3. A coexistence agreement shall be signed with a person related to a commercial building in the relevant zone (referring to a regular business merchant, landlord, etc. of a building subject to business registration under Article 3(1) of the Commercial Building Lease Protection Act; hereinafter the same shall apply). In such cases, if the person deems it necessary for the development of the zone intended to be designated as a local coexistence zone under Article 12 of the Act or as an autonomous trading zone under Article 15 of the Act and gives consent, the head of the competent local government or the head of the competent public institution may be allowed to participate as a collaborator of a coexistence agreement.

Article 7(Application for designation of local coexistence zone and designation thereof) #

(1) The number of consenters under Article 12(1) and (2) of the Act shall be calculated according to the following standards:

1. Where there are multiple regular business merchants or landlords at a single store or there are multiple landowners for a single parcel of land, one person representing them shall be deemed a regular business merchant, landlord or landowner; provided, each of the sectional owners defined in subparagraph 2 of Article 2 of the Act on Ownership and Management of Condominium Buildings shall be counted as one landowner;

2. Where a single person leases two or more shops or owns two or more parcels of land, the landlord or landowner shall be counted as one, regardless of the number of leased shops or the number of parcels owned;

3. Where a landlord who has leased two or more stores together or a co-owner of two or more parcels of land are identical, the landlord or one person representing co-owners shall be counted as the landlord or landowner.

(2) "Changes to minor matters prescribed by Presidential Decree" in the proviso of Article 12(3) of the Act means the following:

1. Less than 10/100 of the area at the time of designation of a local coexistence zone is changed to the extent that all the requirements listed in the items of subparagraph 2 of Article 2 of the Act;

2. A local coexistence zone is changed as a result of a change in an urban/Gun master plan or an urban/Gun management plan under the National Land Planning and Utilization Act.

(3) Pursuant to Article 12(5) of the Act, the head of a Si/Gun/Gu (referring to the head of an autonomous Gu; hereinafter the same shall apply) shall notify regular business merchants, landlords, etc. of a public hearing plan, which includes the following matters, via the representative of a local coexistence council under Article 14(1) of the Act at least 14 days prior to the scheduled date of the public hearing and shall publicly announce such plan on the Official Gazette and the website of the relevant Si/Gun/Gu:

1. Purposes of the public hearing;

2. The date, time and venue of the public hearing;

3. The outline of an application for designation or change of a local coexistence zone;

4. Other matters deemed by the head of a Si/Gun/Gu to be necessary for holding a public hearing.

(4) A public hearing under Article 12(5) of the Act shall be presided over by a person designated by the head of a Si/Gun/Gu.

(5) Except as provided in paragraphs (1) through (4), details concerning an application for designation or change of a local coexistence zone, designation methods and procedures, and others shall be prescribed by Decree of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.

Article 8(Cancellation of designation of local coexistence zone) #

(1) If the head of a Si/Gun/Gu intends to cancel the designation of a local coexistence zone on the grounds that it falls under subparagraph 2 or 3 of Article 13(1) of the Act, he or she shall hear from a local coexistence council under Article 14(1) of the Act before filing a request for approval with a Mayor/Do Governor.

(2) Matters that the head of a Si/Gun/Gu shall report to the Minister of SMEs and Startups (excluding subparagraph 4) or publicly announce on the Official Gazette or Public Gazette under Article 13(2) of the Act are as follows:

1. The name, location, and area of a local coexistence zone the designation of which has been canceled;

2. Grounds for cancellation of designation of a local coexistence zone;

3. The effective date of the cancellation of the designation of a local coexistence zone;

4. Other matters deemed necessary by the head of a Si/Gun/Gu in relation to the cancellation of designation.

Article 9(Composition of local coexistence council) #

(1) The number of members of a local coexistence council under Article 14(1) of the Act (hereinafter referred to as "local coexistence council") shall be at least 10/100 of the number of stores in a preliminary local coexistence zone, including at least one expert falling under any of the following:

1. Experts in revitalization of trading areas or urban regeneration projects;

2. Other persons with extensive expert knowledge and experience related to revitalization of trading areas or urban regeneration projects.

(2) The representative of a local coexistence council (hereafter in this Article referred to as "representative") shall be elected by and from among its members.

(3) Merchants, etc. or a representative in a preliminary local coexistence zone under Article 12(1) of the Act may request the head of the competent Si/Gun/Gu, a civic organization, an organization to which an expert falling under any subparagraph of paragraph (1) belongs, etc. to recommend a member of the local coexistence council.

(4) The term of office of the representative shall be 2 years, and he or she may be allowed to serve one further term only; provided, the term of office of a representative newly elected due to the designation of a representative, etc. shall be the remainder of that of the predecessor.

(5) The representative shall seek advice from the following experts pursuant to Article 14(4) of the Act:

1. For the business affairs specified in Article 14(3)2 of the Act: Legal experts, such as lawyers;

2. For the business affairs specified in Article 14(3)3 of the Act: Experts in trading areas, such as trading area managers under Article 24(1) of the Act.

(6) The representative shall notify regular business merchants, etc. in the local coexistence zone of the advice obtained under paragraph (5).

Article 10(Application for designation of autonomous trading zone and designation thereof) #

(1) Article 7(1) shall apply mutatis mutandis to the calculation of the number of consenters under Article 15(1) and (2) of the Act.

(2) "Changes to minor matters prescribed by Presidential Decree" in the proviso of Article 15(3) of the Act means the following:

1. Less than 10/100 of the area at the time of designation of an autonomous trading zone is changed to the extent that all the requirements listed in the items of subparagraph 4 of Article 2 of the Act;

2. An autonomous trading zone is changed as a result of a change in an urban/Gun master plan or an urban/Gun management plan under the National Land Planning and Utilization Act.

(3) Pursuant to Article 15(5) of the Act, the head of a Si/Gun/Gu shall notify regular business merchants, landlords, etc. of a public hearing plan, which includes the following matters, via the representative of an autonomous trading area association under Article 19(1) of the Act at least 14 days prior to the scheduled date of the public hearing and shall publicly announce such plan on the Official Gazette and the website of the relevant Si/Gun/Gu:

1. Purposes of the public hearing;

2. The date, time and venue of the public hearing;

3. The outline of an application for designation or change of an autonomous trading zone;

4. Other matters deemed by the head of a Si/Gun/Gu to be necessary for holding a public hearing.

(4) A public hearing under Article 15(5) of the Act shall be presided over by a person designated by the head of a Si/Gun/Gu.

(5) Except as provided in paragraphs (1) through (4), details concerning an application for designation or change of an autonomous trading zone, designation methods and procedures, and others shall be prescribed by Decree of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.

Article 11(Cancellation of designation of autonomous trading zone) #

(1) Where the head of a Si/Gun/Gu intends to cancel the designation of an autonomous trading zone under any subparagraph of Article 16(1)2 through 4 of the Act, he or she shall hear from the autonomous trading area association under Article 19(1) of the Act before filing a request for approval with the Mayor/Do Governor.

(2) Matters that the head of a Si/Gun/Gu shall report to the Minister of SMEs and Startups (excluding subparagraph 4) or publicly announce on the Official Gazette or Public Gazette under Article 16(2) of the Act are as follows:

1. The name, location, and area of an autonomous trading zone the designation of which has been canceled;

2. Grounds for cancellation of designation of an autonomous trading zone;

3. The effective date of the cancellation of the designation of an autonomous trading zone;

4. Other matters deemed necessary by the head of a Si/Gun/Gu in relelation to the cancelation of designation.

Article 12(Composition and operation of preparatory committee for association establishment) #

(1) The preparatory committee under Article 17(1) of the Act (hereinafter referred to as "preparatory committee for association establishment") shall be comprised of up to 20 members, including one chairperson and one vice chairperson.

(2) The chairperson of the preparatory committee for association establishment (hereafter in this Article referred to as "chairperson") and the vice-chairperson thereof shall be elected by and from among its members.

(3) The chairperson shall exercise general control over the administrative affairs of the preparatory committee for association establishment and serve as its representative.

(4) Where the chairperson is unable to perform his or her duties due to unavoidable reasons, the vice chairperson of the preparatory committee for association establishment shall act on his or her behalf.

(5) Meetings of the preparatory committee for association establishment shall be convened by the chairperson.

(6) Where intending to convene a meeting of the preparatory committee for association establishment, the chairperson shall determine the date, venue, and agenda of the meeting and notify each member in writing or by electronic means at least 7 days prior to the meeting; provided, a meeting may be convened without notification in cases of urgency.

(7) A majority of the members of the preparatory committee for association establishment shall constitute a quorum, and any decision thereof shall require a concurring vote of at least a majority of those present.

(8) Except as provided in paragraphs (1) through (7), matters necessary for the composition, operation, and management of the preparatory committee for association establishment shall be determined by a resolution of the preparatory committee for association establishment.

Article 13(Duties of preparatory committee for association establishment) #

"Other duties prescribed by Presidential Decree" referred to in Article 18(1)2 of the Act means any of the following:

1. Duties regarding consent by merchants, etc. in a preliminary autonomous trading zone under Article 17(1) of the Act for the establishment of an autonomous trading area association under Article 19(1) of the Act;

2. Preparing boundary designs for a preliminary autonomous trading zone;

3. Preparing the articles of association and business plan for the autonomous trading area association;

4. Other duties necessary to be performed to prepare for the establishment of the autonomous trading area association.

Article 14(Establishment of autonomous trading area association) #

(1) Article 6(1) through (3) of the Enforcement Decree of the Framework Act on Cooperatives shall apply mutatis mutandis to the methods and procedures for a resolution at the inaugural general meeting that the preparatory committee for association establishment is required to undergo before obtaining authorization from the head of Si/Gun/Gu pursuant to Article 19(1) of the Act. In such cases, "cooperative" shall be construed as "autonomous trading area association."

(2) Upon receipt of an application for authorization for the establishment of an autonomous trading area association under Article 19(1) of the Act, the head of a Si/Gun/Gu shall grant authorization if the details of such application meet the following standards:

1. The purpose of the establishment of the autonomous trading area association shall be in line with the coexistence and revitalization of local trading areas under Article 2(5) of the Act;

2. A feasible business plan and self-financing and execution plans shall be in place.

Article 15(Revocation of authorization for establishment of autonomous trading area association) #

If the head of a Si/Gun/Gu intends to revoke authorization for the establishment of an autonomous trading area association for falling under Article 20(1)1 of the Act, he or she shall hold a hearing.

Article 16(Dissolution and liquidation of autonomous trading area association) #

The dissolution and liquidation of an autonomous trading area association under Article 20(3) of the Act shall be governed by Articles 57, 58, and 60 of the Framework Act on Cooperatives.

Article 17(Matters to be included in articles of association) #

"Matters prescribed by Presidential Decree" in Article 21(1)5 of the Act means the following:

1. Scope of business and accounting;

2. Matters concerning the method of bearing business expenses;

3. Matters concerning executive officers and employees;

4. Matters concerning the rights and obligations of members;

5. Matters concerning the operation of the general meeting and the board of directors;

6. Matters concerning the amendment of the articles of association;

7. Matters concerning dissolution and liquidation;

8. Other matters to be included in the articles of association, which have been resolved at a general meeting.

Article 18(Minor changes to articles of association) #

"Minor matters prescribed by Presidential Decree" in the proviso of Article 21(1) of the Act means the following:

1. The location of the main office of the autonomous trading area association;

2. The number of executive officers of the autonomous trading area association and its business scope.

Article 19(Support projects for autonomous trading area association) #

(1) Pursuant to Article 23(2) of the Act, the relevant central administrative agencies and local governments may provide the following support to autonomous trading area associations conducting the projects listed in paragraph (1) of that Article:

1. Support for trading area digitalization, such as the dataization of trading area information, e-commerce, and the introduction of smart technologies;

2. Support for development, sales support, and promotion of local specialty products;

3. Support for sales promotion and trading area promotion by holding festivals, events, etc.;

4. Training and management support for merchants, etc.;

5. Other support deemed by the relevant central administrative agency or local government to be necessary for the revitalization of local trading areas.

(2) If an autonomous trading area association intends to receive support under any subparagraph of paragraph (1), it shall prepare a business plan containing the following matters and submit it to the head of the relevant central administrative agency or local government:

1. Project promotion purpose and plans;

2. Budget and financing plan for the project;

3. Expected effects after completion of the project;

4. Plans for consultation with land and building owners, merchants, etc. necessary for the promotion of the project;

5. Other matters required by the head of the relevant central administrative agency or local government as necessary for selecting a support project for autonomous business associations.

Article 20(Qualifications of trading area manager) #

(1) "Professional manager for a trading area, who meets the qualifications requirements prescribed by Presidential Decree" in the main clause of Article 24(1) of the Act means a person who has the qualifications and experience corresponding to any of the following in the trading area-related fields, such as management, economics, trading area analysis, real estate, urban planning, architecture, design, culture, or tourism, and who has completed educational programs under Article 26(1) of the Act:

1. A person with a master's or higher degree and at least 5 years of work experience in the relevant field (including work experience obtained before receipt of a master's or higher degree);

2. A person with a bachelor's degree and at least 7 years of work experience in the relevant field (including work experience obtained before receipt of a bachelor's degree);

3. A person with at least 9 years of work experience in the relevant field.

(2) "The number prescribed by Presidential Decree" in the proviso of Article 24(1) of the Act means 10 persons.

(3) Other necessary matters, such as procedures for the registration of trading area manager, shall be prescribed by Decree of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.

Article 21(Designation of institutions for training trading area managers) #

(1) The Minister of SMEs and Startups may designate any of the following institutions or organizations, which meets the requirements for designation as prescribed in Appendix 1, as an educational institution for training trading area managers pursuant to Article 26(1) of the Act:

1. A school that offers and operates educational programs related to trading areas, among schools referred to in the subparagraphs of Article 2 of the Higher Education Act;

2. A public institutions related to trading areas, among public institutions under Article 4(1) of the Act on the Management of Public Institutions;

3. A non-profit corporation related to trading areas, among non-profit corporations under Article 32 of the Civil Act;

4. Other institutions or organizations related to trading area managers, recognized by the Minister of SMEs and Startups.

(2) An institution or organization which intends to be designated as an educational institution for training trading area managers under paragraph (1) (hereinafter referred to as "trading area manager training institution") shall submit to the Minister of SMEs and Startups an application for designation prescribed by Decree of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, accompanied by documents certifying that the designation requirements under Appendix 1 are satisfied.

(3) In designating a trading area manager training institution, the Minister of SMEs and Startups shall take the following into consideration:

1. Adequacy of the curriculum and contents;

2. Adequacy of the operating expense funding plan.

(4) Details of considerations under the subparagraphs of paragraph (3) shall be prescribed by Decree of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.

(5) Upon designation of a trading area manager training institution, the Minister of SMEs and Startups shall issue a certificate of designation of a trading area manager training institution prescribed by Decree of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, record the fact in the issuance ledger prescribed by Decree of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and manage such ledger.

(6) Upon designation of a trading area manager training institution, the Minister of SMEs and Startups shall post such designation on the website of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.

Article 22(Special cases concerning installation of attached parking lots) #

The standard for installing attached parking lots for sales facilities under subparagraph 2 of Appendix 1 of the Enforcement Decree of the Parking Lot Act and Type 1 and Type 2 neighboring convenience facilities under subparagraph 3 of the same Table in a revitalization zone required to install parking lots under Article 28 of the Act shall be one space per 300 square meters of the facility area.

Article 23(Support for revitalization zones) #

(1) Article 19(2) shall apply mutatis mutandis to the procedures, methods, etc. for filing an application for support under Article 30(1)2 and 3 and (2) of the Act.

(2) "Persons prescribed by Presidential Decree, such as merchants and others" in Article 30(2) of the Act means any of the following:

1. Regular business merchants;

2. Autonomous trading area associations;

3. Other persons requiring support for the coexistence and revitalization of local trading areas, as prescribed by Decree of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups or by municipal ordinance.

Article 24(Restriction on business types) #

(1) "Business prescribed by Presidential Decree, such as entertainment pub business" in Article 31(1)2 of the Act means the karaoke bar business under subparagraph 8c of Article 21 of the Enforcement Decree of the Food Sanitation Act and the entertainment bar business under item d of that subparagraph.

(2) Pursuant to Article 31(1)3 of the Act, the head of a Si/Gun/Gu may prohibit or restrict business operations or installation of facilities if the annual sales of the franchise headquarters exceed the SME size standard, such as the average sales by main business type specified in Appendix 1 of the Enforcement Decree of the Framework Act on Small and Medium Enterprises.

(3) Pursuant to Article 31(1)4 of the Act, the head of a Si/Gun/Gu may prohibit or restrict relevant business operations or installation of facilities if the annual sales of the headquarters of a chain business exceed the SME size standard, such as the average sales by main business type specified in Appendix 1 of the Enforcement Decree of the Framework Act on Small and Medium Enterprises.

Article 25(Consultation and deliberation on restriction on business types) #

(1) If the head of a Si/Gun/Gu intends to undergo deliberation by a local trading area committee under Article 11 of the Act (hereinafter referred to as "local trading area committee") pursuant to Article 31(2) of the Act, he or she shall submit to the local trading area committee a written request for deliberation containing the following matters and the results of consultations with a local coexistence council:

1. Results of a fact-finding survey on business operations or facilities prohibited or restricted;

2. Opinions of enterprises, micro-business organizations, experts, etc. on prohibited or restricted business operations or facilities.

(2) When the local trading area committee in receipt of a request for deliberation under paragraph (1) deliberates on matters concerning business operations or facilities prohibited or restricted within a local coexistence zone, it shall take the following into consideration:

1. The need to prohibit or restrict the relevant business operations or installation of facilities;

2. The impact of the prohibition or restriction on the relevant business operations or installation of facilities on consumer welfare and the competitiveness of the local trading area.

(3) Upon receipt of a request for deliberation under paragraph (1), the local trading area committee shall make a resolution within 30 days from the date of receipt of such request; provided, if the contents of the submitted documents are different from the facts or if there are other unavoidable circumstances, the deliberation period may be extended by up to 15 days following a resolution of the local trading area committee.

(4) If the head of a Si/Gun/Gu intends to publicly announce the prohibition or restriction on business operations or installation of facilities in a local coexistence zone pursuant to Article 31(2) of the Act, he or she shall make a public announcement of such fact, including the following matters, in the Official Gazette or on the website of the relevant Si/Gun/Gu:

1. Business operations or facilities to be prohibited or restricted;

2. Grounds for the prohibition or restriction on the relevant business operations or installation of facilities;

3. The effective date of the prohibition or restriction on the relevant business operations or installation of facilities;

4. Other matters required to be informed to the public regarding the prohibition or restriction on business operations or installation of facilities in the local coexistence zone.

Article 26(Registration of business operations publicly announced to be prohibited or restricted) #

(1) A person intending to file for registration for business operations publicly announced to be prohibited or restricted under the main clause of Article 31(3) of the Act (hereafter in this Article referred to as "prospective registrant") may file with the head of a Si/GunGu a request for prior business coordination with a local coexistence council, accompanied by the following documents:

1. A business plan containing the following:

a. An overview of the business (including information on the business type, founder, the schedule for business promotion, the scheduled date of commencement of business operations, etc.);

b. Location of stores;

c. The size of business, including the floor space of business places, the number of employees, etc.

2. A local cooperation plan (referring to a business plan for local cooperation, such as the revitalization of local trading areas and reinforcement of cooperation for coexistence with regular business merchants in the local coexistence zone).

(2) When the head of a Si/Gun/Gu completes consultations on prior project coordination as requested under paragraph (1) or receives documents under subparagraphs 1 and 4 from a prospective registrant, he or she shall file with the local trading area committee a request for deliberation, accompanied by the following:

1. Results of prior business coordination with the local coexistence council;

2. Results of a fact-finding survey on the relevant type of business;

3. Opinions of enterprises, organizations of micro enterprises, experts, etc. related to the relevant type of business;

4. Documents specified in the subparagraphs of paragraph (1);

5. Other materials deemed necessary by the chairperson of the local trading area committee in relation to the lifting of the prohibition or restriction on the business operations publicly announced as prohibited or restricted.

(3) When the local trading area committee in receipt of a request for deliberation under paragraph (2) deliberates on matters concerning the lifting of prohibition or restriction on business operations or facilities as prohibited or restricted, it shall take the following into consideration:

1. The need to lift prohibition or restriction on the prohibited or restricted business operations;

2. The impact that the lifting of prohibition or restriction is expected to have on consumer welfare and the competitiveness of the local trading area.

(4) Upon receipt of a request for deliberation under paragraph (2), the local trading area committee shall make a resolution within 30 days from the date of receipt of such request; provided, if the contents of the submitted documents are different from the facts or if there are other unavoidable circumstances, the deliberation period may be extended by up to 15 days following a resolution of the local trading area committee.

(5) Upon completion of deliberation by a local trading area committee, the head of a Si/Gun/Gu shall immediately notify the prospective registrant of the results thereof.

(6) A prospective registrant who has been notified of the results of deliberation under paragraph (5) may file an application for registration of the relevant business operations with the head of the relevant Si/Gun/Gu based on the results of deliberation.

(7) Once the head of a Si/Gun/Gu has registered the business operations publicly announced as prohibited or restricted in the local coexistence zone (including cases where such registration is deemed to be made under the proviso of Article 31(3) of the Act), he or she shall issue a certificate of registration of business operations in a local coexistence zone, record such fact on the registration ledger prescribed by Decree of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and manage such ledger.

(8) If the head of a Si/Gun/Gu has registered business operations pursuant to paragraph (7), he or she shall publicly announce matters concerning the type of registered business operations, etc. in the Official Gazette, on the website of the relevant Si/Gun/Gu or by other means.

Article 27(Designation of specialized support agency) #

(1) Pursuant to Article 32(1) of the Act, the Minister of SMEs and Startups may designate an agency or corporation that meets all of the following requirements as a specialized support agency (hereinafter referred to as "specialized support agency") for conducting the business affairs specified in the subparagraphs of Article 32(2) of the Act (hereinafter referred to as "busienss affairs to support projects for revitalization zones"): <Amended on Dec. 23, 2025>

1. It shall be any of the following agencies or corporations:

a. A public institution under Article 4 of the Act on the Management of Public Institutions;

b. A non-profit corporation established pursuant to Article 32 of the Civil Act;

c. Other agencies or corporations deemed by the Minister of SMEs and Startups to be suitable for efficiently conducting the business affairs to support projects for revitalization zones;

2. It shall have a unit and at least 3 staff members dedicated to the conduct of business affairs to support projects for revitalization zones; in such cases, if the representative of an agency or corporation conducts business affairs to support projects for revitalization zones, the representative shall be included in the number of dedicated staff members;

3. It shall be equipped with exclusive business space and facilities necessary for conducting business affairs to support projects for revitalization zones.

(2) Where the Minister of SMEs and Startups designates a specialized support agency pursuant to paragraph (1), he or she shall post such fact on the website.

(3) A person designated as a specialized support agency pursuant to paragraph (1) shall file with the Minister of SMEs and Startups a business plan for the relevant year and a performance report for the preceding year by January 31 each year.

(4) Where a specialized support agency falls under Article 32(4)2 of the Act, the Minister of SMEs and Startups may require that the relevant violation be corrected within a specified period of up to 30 days.

(5) Where a specialized support agency fails to meet the designation standards under paragraph (1) within the period specified in paragraph (4), the Minister of SMEs and Startups may revoke the designation thereof.

[This Article Wholly Amended on Aug. 27, 2024]

Article 28(Accounting audit for autonomous trading area association) #

(1) An autonomous commercial zone association shall submit the following materials to an auditor designated by the head of a Si/Gun/Gu for an accounting audit within 6 months after the end of each fiscal year pursuant to Article 34(2) of the Act:

1. A statement of financial position;

2. A statement of operational performance;

3. A statement of appropriation of retained earnings or a statement of disposition of deficits;

4. Materials requested by the auditor as necessary for the accounting audit, such as notes.

(2) The accounting audit under paragraph (1) shall be governed by the standards for accounting audits under Article 16 of the Act on External Audit of Stock Companies.

Article 29(Entrustment of business affairs) #

The Minister of SMEs and Startups shall entrust the following business affairs to the Small Enterprise Market Service pursuant to Article 35(2) of the Act:

1. Compilation of local master plans under Article 7 of the Act;

2. Conduct of fact-finding surveys under Article 8 of the Act;

3. Receipt of applications for the designation of an educational institution under Article 26(1) of the Act and review of the designation standards.

Article 30(Re-examination of regulation) #

The Minister of SMEs and Startups shall examine the appropriateness of the following matters every 3 years, counting from April 28, 2022 (referring to the period that ends on the day before the base date of every third year) and take measures, such as making improvements:

1. Requirements for the designation of a trading area manager training institution under Article 21(1) and Appendix 1;

2. Business operations or facilities that may be prohibited or restricted in a local coexistence zone under Article 24.

Article 31(Criteria for imposing administrative fines) #

The criteria for imposing administrative fines pursuant to Article 38(1) of the Act shall be as specified in Appendix 2.