Two department stores in Busan and Masan closed down in the first half of the year. Since 2021, Korea’s major department stores and the three leading hypermarket chains have not opened a single new store, and there are no plans for new openings this year. After decades of aggressive expansion, these retailers are now choosing between closing underperforming stores or renovating existing ones. The last new store openings by the three hypermarket chains - E-mart, Lotte Mart, and Homeplus -was in 2021, when E-mart launched its Jeonju Eco City store.

Department stores are also feeling the pressure. Lotte Department Store closed its Masan location in June. Similarly, NC Department Store shut down its Seomyeon store in Busan in May. For the first time last year, brick-and-mortar retailers such as department stores and hypermarkets saw their sales overtaken by online retailers. Online retail sales increased by 9% year-on-year last year, accounting for 50.5% of total retail sales, while offline retail fell to 49.5%, according to a report by the Ministry of Trade. Shinsegae Group initiated an emergency management system in November last year. In March and April this year, E-Mart offered voluntary retirement programs to employees with over 15 years of service for the first time.