Restructuring the retail industry...Touching the aftermath of impeachment

[Anchor]
At the end of the year, the distribution industry has carried out voluntary retirement one after another, leading to a chaotic atmosphere.

With political uncertainty in the face of a continued slump in domestic demand, companies are expected to continue tightening management next year.

I'm reporter Hwang Bo Hye-kyung.

[Reporter]
A wind of restructuring is blowing in the distribution industry.

Lotte On, Lotte Group's online shopping mall, is accepting voluntary retirement applications for employees with more than two years of service.

It has only been six months since the first voluntary retirement was implemented in June.

Lotte On, which was launched four years ago and has been suffering from poor performance, recorded a cumulative operating loss of 61.5 billion won by the third quarter of this year.

E-Mart has also started to reduce its workforce for the second time this month.

E-Mart, which recorded its first annual deficit last year, received its first company voluntary retirement application in March this year for the first time in 31 years.

An E-Mart official said that they will implement a second voluntary retirement to secure sustainable competitiveness in the rapidly changing distribution environment.

Last month, Coca-Cola Beverage, a subsidiary of LG Household & Health Care, also began restructuring its workforce for the first time since its acquisition in 2007, causing a wind of job cuts across the retail industry due to a prolonged slump in domestic demand.

In addition to the variables of impeachment, companies are also paying keen attention to the aftermath.

[Department store official: There is no significant change in sales right now due to political instability. We continue to keep an eye on the impact that uncertainty can have.

Companies' efforts to improve their constitution by cutting costs are expected to continue for the time being, with the prevailing outlook that the slump in domestic demand will deepen next year.

I'm YTN Hwang Bo Hye-kyung.