The road for large companies such as Hyundai Motor Company, has been officially opened to enter the used car market in South Korea.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on March 17th that at the 'Used car sales industry suitable industry for livelihood review committee' held on the same day, it has finally decided not to designate the used car sales business as a livelihood type suitable industry.

As a result, large automakers are now able to engage in used car sales.

Regarding the reasons for not being designated as a suitable business for a livelihood, the Deliberation Committee said, "Compared to the service industry as a whole, the wholesale/retail industry, and the auto and parts sales industry, the proportion of small business owners is small, the average annual sales of small business owners are high, and the proportion of unpaid family workers is small." It does not meet the criteria for 'small scale'."

The deliberation committee further added, "With the entry into the finished car industry, we have comprehensively considered the effects of improving consumer welfare, such as securing reliability of products such as the performance and condition of used cars, and expanding consumer choices."

In addition, he added, "We have taken into account the opinion that the shared growth committee, which was in charge of preliminary deliberation, in November 2019 said that the used car sales business was not suitable for a livelihood industry."

However, the deliberation committee said, "If Hyundai Motor and Kia enter the used car market, damage to SMEs and small business owners is expected to be sufficient." presented

The used car trading industry applied for business adjustment to the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Businesses in January to prevent large automakers such as Hyundai Motor and Kia from entering the used car market.

In this regard, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups said that as mediation between the parties is currently underway, a business adjustment deliberation committee will be held after conducting an investigation on the actual condition of damage to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Vehicles are parked at the Janganpyeong Used Car Sales Market in Seoul on the 17th, when a meeting of the relevant deliberation committee on whether the used car sales business is designated as a suitable business for living is held.

With the decision of the deliberation committee today, large automakers are expected to enter the used car market in earnest.

Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors have already applied for automobile sales registration in Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do and Jeongeup, Jeollabuk-do.

The used car sales business was designated as a 'suitable industry for small and medium-sized businesses' in 2013, limiting the start, acquisition, and expansion of business by large corporations.

Then, when the designation period expired in February 2019, existing used car companies applied again to the government to redesignate the used car sales business as a suitable business for living. However, in November of the same year, the Shared Growth Committee, which acts as a 'rudder' in advance, did not recommend the used car sales business as a suitable business for a livelihood.

At that time, the road for large corporations to enter the used car market was open, but the decision was delayed as the deliberative committee meeting was not held for more than two years due to the spread of Corona 19, and the used car and finished car industry failed to find a mutual compromise.

The finished car industry suggested limiting its market share to below a certain level, but the used car industry strongly opposed it, saying, "There are still concerns about the monopoly and oligopoly of large companies."

As the discussion continued, the auto industry announced its entry into the used car market at the end of last year. On the 7th, Hyundai Motor Company also unveiled a detailed plan to sell only certified used cars with a mileage of 100,000 km or less for 5 years after purchase.