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Stores forced to stay open during Chuseok by headquarters, franchise owners say

Published: 09 Oct. 2025, 10:15

The Gyeongdong Market in eastern Seoul is filled with shoppers on Oct. 3. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Despite slow sales during the Chuseok holiday, many small business owners say they were forced to keep their stores open due to pressure from franchise headquarters or contractors.

A 61-year-old convenience store owner who has run his shop for six years kept it open again this Chuseok holiday, despite a steep drop in business.

“The store is in a residential area, and most of the regulars had gone to their hometowns or on trips,” the owner said. “Sales fall to 50 to 60 percent of normal during the holidays, but the franchise headquarters told me not to close, saying other stores are staying open too.”

The owner spent the holidays alone while family visited relatives.

An increasing number of self-employed business owners say they are unable to take breaks during long holidays due to pressure from franchise headquarters or subcontracting firms. Industry insiders say the franchise system, which links store sales directly to headquarters' profits, if often the reason behind stores staying open during the holidays.

The owner of a dessert shop operating under a contract at a subway station in Seoul also stayed open on Wednesday, a substitute holiday.

“Before Chuseok, a sales manager from the contracting firm came by and told me I couldn’t take a single day off during the holidays,” the owner said. “After complaints from store owners, they relented and allowed a break on the main Chuseok day itself.”

Cars are stuck on the Gyeongbu Expressway in Seoul on Oct. 3, the first day of the extended Chuseok holiday. [YONHAP]

The owner said stores pay 18 to 20 percent of their revenue as commission and that once costs are deducted, staying open during the holidays leads to losses. “Some stores were even pressured not to take a break out of fear of losing future contracts,” the owner added.

For self-employed franchisees or subcontracted operators, days off are rare not only during holidays but year-round. According to government data, 169,364 franchise stores in Korea — including convenience stores and cafes — operated without regular days off as of 2023. Regular holidays are defined as recurring days off, not including national holidays.

Among convenience stores, 99.2 percent had no regular holidays. For cafes and nonalcoholic beverage shops, the figure was 81.4 percent, and for bakeries, 78.3 percent.

A standard franchise agreement was introduced in 2019 that allows convenience store owners to take Chuseok or Lunar New Year off if they submit a request six weeks in advance. However, approval is still subject to headquarters’ discretion, making many owners reluctant to apply.

Hiring part-time staff just for the holidays is also difficult. Many small business owners rely on family members to run the store instead of keeping employees year-round.

Industry groups argue that if the government introduces a four-and-a-half-day workweek and expands labor law protections to workplaces with fewer than five employees, it will become even harder for small business owners to hire help.

“If the 4.5-day workweek is implemented while keeping paid weekly holidays, small businesses will face a double burden,” the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprises said on Oct. 1. A shorter workweek would require higher overtime pay, the group said.

Experts say more autonomy for store owners to take time off is necessary to reform the franchise model, which often relies on long hours by owners themselves.

“Franchise closure rates are already high,” said Kim Dae-jong, a professor of business at Sejong University. “If the imbalance between headquarters and franchisees continues, more will shut down and service quality will suffer. The Fair Trade Commission should consider revising standard franchise agreements to guarantee time off.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY IM SOUNG-BIN [[email protected]]