Korea Oil Distribution Association "Expectations for Rationalization of Credit Card Fees, Improvement in Gas Station Management"

[Financial News]  
Korea Oil Distribution Association (hereafter referred to as the Association) welcomed the proposal of the amendment to the 'Specialized Credit Finance Business Act (hereafter referred to as the Amendment)' by Lee Kang-il, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, aimed at alleviating the burden of card fees on special industry small merchants and establishing a fair fee system, and urged for the swift passage of the bill.
Kim Jeong-hoon, the chairman, stated, "More than half of the fuel price is accounted for by the fuel tax, which is entirely absorbed by the government, and this is included in the gas station's sales, resulting in business owners paying the highest level of card fees over the past 40 years," adding, "In the case of gas stations, over 90% of sales are through credit cards, and each gas station faces a significant burden of tens of millions of won in card fees annually."
The gasoline and diesel sold at gas stations are subject to a fuel tax (traffic tax and other taxes) of 820 won and 581 won per liter, respectively. Since card fees are imposed on the entire nominal sales including this fuel tax, the '1.5% preferential fee rate application' is merely nominal, and in reality, they bear the highest fee rate of over 3% across all industries, according to the Association.
The Association stated, "Despite the 'triple hardships' of unfair and excessive competition due to excessive intervention in the oil distribution market by public enterprises (operation of thrifty gas stations), reduced oil consumption due to economic slowdown and the government's energy transition policy, and increased costs such as labor and card fees, oil distributors and gas station operators have quietly cooperated with the government's oil price stabilization policy and have done their best to ensure smooth supply of petroleum products," and expressed hope that the Amendment would be swiftly passed in the National Assembly to rationalize card fees, improve the management environment of small business owners, and enhance consumer benefits through oil price reduction.
The amendment to the Specialized Credit Finance Business Act proposed by Assemblyman Lee Kang-il includes provisions to exclude government revenue items such as fuel tax from the total sales amount when calculating card fee rates, to establish the right for special industry merchant associations such as gas stations to request negotiations with credit card companies, and to allow the government to partially subsidize fees for transactions involving government revenue items (details and methods delegated to presidential decree), reflecting the demands of special industry and small self-employed business owners such as gas stations and convenience stores.



padet80@fnnews.com Park Shin-young Reporter