US giant Costco Wholesale Corp’s South Korean unit has resumed its operations on September 16, 2012 at its outlets across the country. The industry officials claim that the recent move is a violation of Seoul’s policy of restricting the business of the large retailers.
In South Korea, the local authorities have prohibited the large retailers from doing business on the second and fourth Sunday of every month which will help in protecting the mom-and-pop stores. The largest retailer of South Korea E-Mart and the other retail chains later won injunctions in many of the courts to delay the implementation of the ban.
This will pave the way for them to resume the operations on the second and fourth Sunday of every month. On September 9, 2012 Costco Wholesale Korea Ltd resumed its business at its seven warehouses in South Korea even through it did not participate in the legal action against the government’s new restrictions.
Costco Wholesale on its website said that it will close only on New Year’s day. Lunar New Year’s day and the Chuseok holiday which is the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving Day. The US based company also said that it was opposed to the restriction of its operations in South Korea.
