This report evaluates the Traditional Market Promoting Project, which aims to boost the competitiveness of Korean Traditional Market. The Korean government supports facilities improvement and management innovation in traditional markets through the project to accomplish balanced development in the retail business of small shopkeepers and supermarkets owned and operated by leading conglomerates in Korea. The Small and Medium Business Administration (SMBA) of the Korean government has invested 1,571 billion won since 2002 to carry out this project.
As the market share of conglomerates in retail business has rapidly increased, the government has been providing financial support for facilities improvement and management innovation as well as providing other aid such as tax reduction, and regulatory policy introduction. However, it has been continually alleged that the project underperforms due to the application of ineffective policy instruments.
According to the evaluation in this paper, several problems have been found in this project. Above all, the project has focused too much on facilities improvement since it is an efficient way to increase short-term performance. Innovation in management of small merchants, for this reason, has been ignored in terms of budget allocation. In addition, there has not been a systematic preparation procedure to implement the project and this lack of preparatory steps may incur inefficiency in the project. Thus, the clarification of policy goals and the modification of implementation systems are required for the long-term performance of the traditional market promoting project.
Yoon Sungshik
As the market share of conglomerates in retail business has rapidly increased, the government has been providing financial support for facilities improvement and management innovation as well as providing other aid such as tax reduction, and regulatory policy introduction. However, it has been continually alleged that the project underperforms due to the application of ineffective policy instruments.
According to the evaluation in this paper, several problems have been found in this project. Above all, the project has focused too much on facilities improvement since it is an efficient way to increase short-term performance. Innovation in management of small merchants, for this reason, has been ignored in terms of budget allocation. In addition, there has not been a systematic preparation procedure to implement the project and this lack of preparatory steps may incur inefficiency in the project. Thus, the clarification of policy goals and the modification of implementation systems are required for the long-term performance of the traditional market promoting project.
Yoon Sungshik