[Economy pick] Sinchon and Gangnam are also "empty"...High Commercial Vacancy Rate

[Anchor]
Let's start the economic pick that points to economic issues.

Today, Choi Doo-hee, a reporter from the Ministry of Economy, is here.

This is the first keyword.

First of all, Myeong-dong, Seoul, where the vacancy rate increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, was it an atmosphere of revitalization? How did you feel when you went?

[Reporter]
Yes. Myeong-dong, Seoul, is a representative business district that shrank greatly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

When I went there on a weekday morning, I could see it was mostly crowded with foreign tourists.

As a result, the rental door banners were not visible and there were many places under construction, so the vacancy rate was rapidly recovering.

However, the merchants' stories were quite different.

It was mainly said that sales were not as good as before COVID-19 due to sluggish domestic demand.

Let's listen to it.

[Jang Mi-young / Seoul Myeong-dong Merchant: The recession seems to have gotten a lot better after COVID-19. The real estate market has also opened a lot of stores, but since it is an era of high prices, it is difficult to expect a rise in sales compared to the influx of customers.]

[Anchor]
Myeong-dong also has a lower vacancy rate, but it is still difficult for business owners. You also went to Sinchon, right? How's it going there?

[Reporter]
Yes. At a similar time, Sinchon, which is also a symbol of youth, looked relatively quiet unlike Myeong-dong.

In addition, it was easy to find a shopping mall with a banner on the rental door, and a whole empty building was noticed everywhere.

In fact, the vacancy rate of small shopping malls in Sinchon and Ewha Womans University was around 18%, higher than in other regions such as Myeong-dong, where the vacancy rate fell to single digits.

Let's hear from a local merchant in Sinchon.

[Park Chun-Shim / Seoul Sinchon Merchant: (COVID-19) It's a little better than then, but you don't wait because you have to wait for the customer. There's no one here. So I'm thinking about what to do to fold it or not. There are a lot of empty places in the store, so it's harder to do it.]

According to data from real estate consulting firm Cushman & Wakefield, the situation is similar not only in Sinchon but also in other regions.

In particular, the vacancy rate was more serious in the Gangnam area, with the vacancy rate approaching 40 percent in the Garosu-gil commercial district.

[Anchor]
Why is the vacancy rate of the shopping mall so high to the commercial district of Gangnam?

[Reporter]
Yes. In the aftermath of high prices and high interest rates, it is difficult for small business owners to pay rent.

In addition, changes in consumption trends centered on online rather than offline also seem to have contributed to the increase in vacancy rates.

In fact, the vacancy rate of small shopping malls nationwide in the second quarter was 8%, the highest since related statistics were compiled in 2015.

Rather, it can be seen that it is higher than the second quarter of 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although the number of commercial sales at auctions is increasing, the number of sales is also rapidly accumulating as the demand for winning the bid decreases.

In fact, the successful bid rate for shopping malls in the Seoul metropolitan area was less than 20% last month, and the successful bid rate for shopping malls in Seoul was 15% lower than that.

While the number of commercial sales on the auction market is expected to continue to increase for the time being, it seems to be rapidly entering the era of polarization.