A new bill has been introduced in the South Korean National Assembly that would allow regional love gift certificates to be used at agricultural cooperatives’ HanaRo Mart stores. This move aims to address the growing concern of "food deserts" in rural areas where access to grocery stores is limited.

Rep. Shin Jeong-hoon of the Democratic Party submitted the amendment to the Regional Love Gift Certificate Act on July 28. The amendment would allow agricultural producers’ organizations to register their HanaRo Mart stores, typically located in rural towns and villages, as participating merchants for regional gift certificates.

Currently, the law prohibits businesses with annual sales exceeding 30 billion won from accepting regional gift certificates. This restriction was implemented to prevent large retailers and hospitals from dominating the use of these certificates and to protect smaller, local businesses.

However, many agricultural cooperatives operate HanaRo Mart stores, as well as supply stores and gas stations, under the same legal entity. As a result, their annual sales often exceed the 30 billion won threshold, excluding them from participating in the regional gift certificate program.

HanaRo Mart stores serve as essential community hubs in rural areas, providing residents with access to food and other necessities. The inability to use regional gift certificates at these stores has been a significant inconvenience for rural communities.

The agricultural sector has expressed concern that the current regulations unfairly penalize agricultural cooperatives, which are often cooperative organizations where farmers invest and share profits. They argue that excluding these cooperatives from the regional gift certificate program undermines the cooperative nature of these businesses and hinders efforts to revitalize rural economies.

Advocates of the amendment believe that allowing regional gift certificates to be used at HanaRo Mart stores would help to keep money circulating within local economies and reduce the outflow of funds to urban areas.