On the morning of April 9, 2026, the usually bustling Giheung rest area along the Busan-bound Gyeongbu Expressway in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, became the stage for a rare and pointed government intervention. South Korea’s Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Kim Yoon-duk, arrived not for a routine inspection, but to confront a crisis that had been simmering beneath the surface of the nation’s highway rest areas for years: systemic unfair practices against small business tenants by rest area operators, and the apparent negligence of the Korea Expressway Corporation (KEC) in addressing these abuses.
Minister Kim’s visit followed a series of investigative reports and growing public outcry over cases where operators—most notably a company called ‘In & Out’, run by the Um Jung-wook family—had withheld a staggering 2.8 billion KRW in goods payments owed to tenant merchants. The consequences of these actions were not just financial; one merchant, unable to recover payment, tragically took their own life. According to Hankyoreh21, this incident was only the most visible sign of broader, deeply entrenched problems.
During his meeting with tenant merchants at Giheung, Minister Kim didn’t mince words. “I will do everything I can,” he told the assembled small business owners, “Shouldn’t the Korea Expressway Corporation also be held responsible?” His frustration was palpable as he admitted, “I should have known about this and taken action earlier. This is the first time I’ve heard how serious the situation is.”
Minister Kim’s commitment to action was clear. He announced that he had ordered the road bureau chief to be reassigned regionally—"I told them to transfer the road bureau chief to a regional post. I plan to resolve this very loudly," he said—signaling an intent to shake up the bureaucracy and push for accountability. He also stated on social media, “The situation on the ground was appalling. As pointed out recently by the National Assembly and the media, unfair practices such as unpaid goods payments, excessive abuse of power, and illegal key money demands are rampant.”
Tenant merchants at the meeting voiced further concerns, alleging that the operator’s owner, Um Jung-wook, was investing large sums overseas while failing to pay what was owed domestically. They pleaded, “The National Tax Service needs to investigate.” Kim responded, “I plan to discuss this specifically with the National Tax Service.”
The scale of the problem, as Minister Kim and multiple news outlets including Yonhap Infomax and Asia Economy reported, is not limited to a single location or operator. Unfair practices—ranging from unpaid goods payments and excessive demands for key money and facility fees to outright bullying—have become normalized in rest areas across the country. Many of these abuses, Kim noted, have persisted for years, with KEC failing to take fundamental corrective actions, such as terminating problematic contracts or overhauling management systems.
Kim was unsparing in his criticism of the Korea Expressway Corporation. “The KEC, which should be supervising and managing operators, has tolerated these issues without making structural improvements. This is a dereliction of their duty as a public institution,” he declared. He went further, stating that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport itself must reflect on its oversight role, admitting, “The revealed unfair practices are just the tip of the iceberg. Structural and systemic reform of rest area operations is urgently needed.”
The government’s response is now taking shape on several fronts. Since November 2025, the Ministry has operated the ‘Rest Area Operation Structure Reform Task Force’, specifically tasked with designing a comprehensive overhaul of how rest areas are managed. One of the key reforms under consideration is the elimination of intermediate operators—those companies that act as middlemen between the government and the small businesses actually serving travelers. Instead, the Ministry is exploring direct operation of rest areas, which could cut out layers of fees and reduce opportunities for abuse.
Minister Kim emphasized that the government is “committed to reforming rest areas to eliminate structural unfair practices that cause public inconvenience and harm.” In his words, “Rest areas must become comfortable places for the public and fair business environments for merchants, not places that squeeze out tears and pain.” He pledged, “Until a sensible and fair rest area operating ecosystem is established, the Ministry and I will take full responsibility for rectifying these issues.”
To bolster these efforts, the Ministry plans to complete a nationwide survey of unfair practices at expressway rest areas by the end of April 2026. This survey will not only document the extent of the problem but also guide targeted reforms. The Ministry has also promised to strengthen its oversight mechanisms to prevent a recurrence of such abuses, with Minister Kim stating, “We will manage and supervise to ensure that unfair acts like unpaid goods payments or abuse of power do not happen again.”
Beyond the current crisis, the reform task force is also examining the root causes of unfairness in the rest area business model. Multi-level fee structures and monopolies—sometimes involving retired KEC personnel—have led to excessive costs for tenants and created fertile ground for exploitation. As News1 and other outlets highlighted, Minister Kim has called for the abolition of multi-level commissions and excessive fees, aiming to create a more transparent and equitable system.
The government’s intervention has drawn cautious optimism from tenant merchants, who for years have felt voiceless and vulnerable. Their stories—previously confined within the walls of rest areas—are now out in the open, prompting a reckoning not just for operators but for the public institutions tasked with protecting the interests of both consumers and small businesses.
Minister Kim’s actions, and his willingness to publicly criticize both the operators and his own ministry, mark a significant shift in how the government approaches the management of these vital public spaces. The coming months will test whether these promises translate into real change, but for now, the message from the top is unmistakable: the era of unchecked abuse at Korea’s highway rest areas may finally be coming to an end.