By Kim Hyun-cheol
Staff Reporter
Worsening spats between conglomerates and smaller business owners are going beyond major retailer-run smaller stores called ``super supermarkets'' (SSMs) here, as two different kinds of stores became subject to business arbitration by the government for the first time.
The Small and Medium Business Administration (SMBA) said that Kyobo Book Center and E-Mart, both of which opened stores in a new shopping mall in Youngdeungpo, western Seoul, Wednesday, should hold negotiations with merchants in their vicinity running the same businesses.
Both petitions meet the standard to be subject to arbitration because the two stores can be regarded as sufficient threats to the district's smaller business owners, the SMBA said. The process will be conducted following reviews on related regulations.
The office, however, will not advise them to temporarily close as such a measure could give huge losses to the bookstore and retail franchises.
``Arbitration for these cases will be focused on a compromise between the conflicting parties and voluntary negotiations,'' an SMBA official said.
Both Kyobo and E-Mart plan to keep their Youngdeungpo stores open. ``The store will run as planned, and the company will try to meet smaller shop owners halfway during the arbitration period,'' an E-Mart spokesman said.
``There's no particular plan about the case. The store is open until any measure comes out from the government,'' a Kyobo Book Center spokeswoman said on condition of anonymity.
In July, the Seoul branch of the Korea Federation of Bookstore Associations (KFOBA) filed a petition for arbitration against the opening of the new mega bookstore, and the Dongjak and Youngdeungpo branch of the Korea Supermarkets Alliance followed suit shortly afterward.
The newest location of Kyobo Book Center, the bookstore chain's 15th nationwide and the last branch to open this year, is one of the largest bookstores in Yeungdeungpo as it takes up almost the same space as the main store in central Seoul.
The store, however, incited anger from owners of small bookstores in the district from the planning stage. The KFOBA began preparations for the petition, which it refers to as a ``life-or-death issue'' for its members, right after hearing that Kyobo had signed a contract with the Youngdeungpo mall.