[Photo=Korea Fair Trade Commission]
The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) is taking steps to alleviate the burden of termination fees on convenience store franchisees by convening with major convenience store headquarters for voluntary reforms.
On June 26, the KFTC's Fair Trade Support Center will hold a meeting in its review room to discuss measures aimed at preventing disputes in the convenience store sector. The meeting will include representatives from five major convenience store companies: BGF Retail, GS Retail, Korea Seven, Emart24, and CU.
The initiative comes in response to growing demands to ease the financial burden of excessive termination fees imposed on franchisees, as well as a steady rise in related disputes. In the past three years, the proportion of disputes related to these five convenience store companies accounted for 34.8% in 2023, 40.5% in 2024, and 34.9% in 2025 of all franchise business transaction disputes.
Among the 691 disputes filed in the franchise business sector last year, 161 (23.3%) were related to unfair compensation obligations, including termination fees. Of these, 89 cases involved the five convenience store companies.
During the meeting, the KFTC plans to request that the franchise headquarters improve their practices regarding the imposition of termination fees and adhere to their obligations for sincere consultations with franchisee councils. The agenda will include suggestions and feedback for preventing disputes over termination fees and collecting recommendations related to convenience store dispute resolution.
A KFTC official stated, "We aim to support continuous communication with convenience store headquarters to foster voluntary improvements that prevent disputes related to termination fees."
On June 26, the KFTC's Fair Trade Support Center will hold a meeting in its review room to discuss measures aimed at preventing disputes in the convenience store sector. The meeting will include representatives from five major convenience store companies: BGF Retail, GS Retail, Korea Seven, Emart24, and CU.
The initiative comes in response to growing demands to ease the financial burden of excessive termination fees imposed on franchisees, as well as a steady rise in related disputes. In the past three years, the proportion of disputes related to these five convenience store companies accounted for 34.8% in 2023, 40.5% in 2024, and 34.9% in 2025 of all franchise business transaction disputes.
Among the 691 disputes filed in the franchise business sector last year, 161 (23.3%) were related to unfair compensation obligations, including termination fees. Of these, 89 cases involved the five convenience store companies.
During the meeting, the KFTC plans to request that the franchise headquarters improve their practices regarding the imposition of termination fees and adhere to their obligations for sincere consultations with franchisee councils. The agenda will include suggestions and feedback for preventing disputes over termination fees and collecting recommendations related to convenience store dispute resolution.
A KFTC official stated, "We aim to support continuous communication with convenience store headquarters to foster voluntary improvements that prevent disputes related to termination fees."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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