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On the contrary, there are places where people are worried because they are not coming. Seoul's Dongdaemun shopping district, where many foreigners came, now has no one to sell even if they don't receive monthly rent because their customers' footsteps are cut off.

The reporter Jung Da-eun covered the scene.


<Reporter>

Dongdaemun Street, the largest fashion tourism district in Korea, is noticeably quiet.

[Dongdaemun Merchant: I think only those who must move are coming out. Merchants leave the door open, whether the customer is coming or not ... .]

In the complex shopping mall that represented Dongdaemun, only the clerks who were tired of waiting for customers are seen.

[Clothes repair shop owner: There are no customers, as you can see. We are starving to death. Common people starve to death.]

The same is true of underground duty-free shops that were crowded with foreign tourists.

At one point, it was enough to make a prepayment and wait for an empty store to come out, but now there are notices on rentals everywhere.

There are many empty shops on each floor of this building, both underground and above the ground.

Even if you don't want to get rent, there are no inquiries.

[Clothes shop owner: When the contract period is (expired), there are still people going out now ... I come in without rent, and now I do business at the lowest level.

In particular, collective shopping centers specialized in one industry like this one have demanding business changes, so there is virtually no way to respond to the crisis.

Even if you want to do another business, you must obtain the consent of more than three-quarters of the owners of the collective building under current law.

[Cho Hyun-taek / Shopping Information Research Institute Researcher: In order to change the stagnant atmosphere of the mall, in line with current market trends, an institutional system will be needed.]

In January and February, the nationwide commercial real estate transaction volume increased 21.8% from the same period last year, but the average transaction amount per 3.3㎡ fell by 22.8%.

Merchants are appealing for the desperate need of government or local government to save the stagnant commercial zone.

(Video editing: Jang Hyun-gi, VJ: Han Seung-min)