The government hosted an open debate on January 22nd at the Korea Creative Content Agency Education Services Center to announce plans to end the forced shutdowns of hypermarkets on two public holidays every month, which has been in place since 2012. The obligatory closure of hypermarkets was enforced under the current Distribution Industry Development Act (DIDA) to safeguard small mom-and-pop stores that are usually comprised of local supermarkets and traditional markets. However, the industry structure of the distribution market gradually shifted from a competition between hypermarkets and mom-and-pop stores to one between online and offline retailers, which led to voices strongly arguing that the act only makes people’s lives tougher and more challenging. To address these concerns, the government reported a further plan to amend the DIDA by obliging hypermarkets to close on weekends rather than holidays. The revision of the DIDA would take some time until its full implementation since it requires the approval of the National Assembly. Meanwhile, hypermarkets and customers have welcomed the government unveiling the reform proposal. According to a 2024 investigation by the Federation of Korean Industries on consumer perception of distribution restrictions, 76.4% of 1,000 respondents supported eliminating or easing hypermarket holiday shutdown rules. However, the Korean Mart Labor Union fiercely opposed the rapid modification of the act, claiming it undermines employees’ quality of life while increasing both physical and psychological fatigue during work.