Domestic large corporations are blocked… Xiaomi's direct stores allow consumer coupons, causing controversy

The "Emergency Consumption Coupon" issued to support small businesses and self-employed individuals has excluded major domestic electronics retailers such as Samsung Store, LG Best Shop, and Hi-Mart. In contrast, the direct stores of the Chinese electronics company Xiaomi are included, leading to controversy.

The government specified "large electronics retailers" and "foreign large stores" among the restricted businesses for coupon usage. Accordingly, not only domestic large corporate stores but also the Apple Store operated by the American company Apple were excluded from the list of eligible businesses.

However, the Xiaomi direct store operated by Xiaomi Korea in Seoul was classified as a "small business" with annual sales of less than 3 billion won, allowing the use of the consumer coupons.

Xiaomi is a prominent Chinese big tech company with sales reaching 365.9 billion yuan (approximately 71 trillion won) last year, surpassing even SK Hynix (around 66 trillion won). Concerns have been raised that the use of small business support funds for such global corporations contradicts the purpose of government policy.

Ministry of the Interior and Safety: "Immediate exclusion of Xiaomi stores"

As the controversy spread, the Ministry of Interior and Safety released a clarification and stated its position.

The Ministry stated, "We excluded foreign large enterprise direct stores to align with the purpose of the Emergency Consumption Coupon system."

It continued, "The inter-agency task force for the Emergency Consumption Coupon determined the eligibility of businesses based on an annual sales threshold of 3 billion won or less to revitalize stagnant local commercial districts, restricting large foreign stores and large electronics retailers."

Additionally, it noted, "The Xiaomi direct store entered the market on June 28 of this year and was registered as a credit card merchant afterward, making it difficult to impose prior restrictions on the business. However, we have resolved this issue immediately and excluded the Xiaomi direct store from the eligible businesses."

Finally, it added, "We will do our utmost to manage the eligible businesses so that the consumption coupons can lead to 'value consumption' aimed at revitalizing the local economy and commercial districts."

Image source: Photo=Insight, Ministry of Interior and Safety