Half-Price Hanwoo Triggers 'Open Run'... When Will Frozen Consumption Thaw?

[Anchor]

A large supermarket holding a half-price sale on Hanwoo (Korean beef) drew massive crowds early in the morning. While the semiconductor boom drives overall economic growth, it still feels distant for ordinary citizens, illustrating how hesitant people are to open their wallets.

Reporter Kim Taewon has more.

[Reporter]

A large supermarket in Seoul.

A long queue formed as shoppers lined up early for what is known as an "open run"—rushing in right as doors open to grab desired items.

[Please go on in. Come in slowly.]

As soon as the doors opened, customers headed straight for the meat section, targeting the half-price discounted Hanwoo.

[Yang Soon-ok / Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul: I got here at 9:30 and waited in line. You have to buy a lot when Hanwoo is on sale. It is much cheaper. At 50% off, it is a great deal.]

Despite the high discount rate, some shoppers hesitated to make purchases because the absolute price is higher compared to a discount event held in April of last year.

[Kim Soon-ja / Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul: There is a sales effect. Housewives love buy-one-get-one-free deals. But meat is a bit different. Even with a sale, it still feels a bit expensive for Korean beef.]

Even though the supermarket chain lowered prices on its own down to 6,000 won per 100 grams of grade 1 beef, many shoppers were seen picking up packages only to put them back down.

In fact, statistics released today (October 30) show that consumption dropped 0.4% compared to the same month last year, marking three consecutive months of decline starting from July.

Furthermore, production in the restaurant and lodging sectors, which are directly tied to domestic demand, recorded a 2.9% decrease year-on-year.

This serves as evidence that the warm breeze from the semiconductor sector has yet to reach the pockets of ordinary citizens.

[Kim Jung-sik / Professor Emeritus, Department of Economics, Yonsei University: Consumption is not solely influenced by production or income. When interest rates rise, interest burdens increase, and rising living costs reduce disposable income, making it difficult to consume.]

While the government stated that investments are increasing in sectors other than semiconductors, it appears that it will still take time for the warmth of these statistics to reach everyday people.

(Video filming: Lee Moo-jin, Video editing: Yoon Tae-ho, Design: Kim Yeji)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.