It has been revealed that the sales commissions burdened by stores inside expressway rest areas in Gyeongnam are substantial. The average sales commission rate for the Haman Rest Area (Suncheon-bound) stands at 46.5%. This is the third-highest figure among 202 rest areas nationwide. Cases where commission rates vary significantly depending on the store within the same rest area were also identified.

According to data received from the Korea Expressway Corporation on the 23rd by Representative Kim Mi-ae of the People Power Party (Haeundae-gu B, Busan) from the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, the average sales commission rate for 202 expressway rest areas nationwide is 32.8%. Rest areas with an average commission rate of 30% or higher number 140, accounting for 69.3% of the total. There were also 28 places where the rate exceeded 40%.

In Gyeongnam, the Haman Rest Area (Suncheon-bound) stands out. Its average sales commission rate was 46.5%. It ranks third nationwide, following the Daecheon Rest Area (Seoul-bound at 59.1%) and the Mokpo-bound Daecheon Rest Area (50.6%). Compared to the national rest area average, this is 13.7 percentage points higher.

Even within the same rest area, the difference in commission rates among individual stores was large. Looking at the analysis results of 44 rest areas operated by five major operating companies, 40 of them showed a difference of 20 percentage points or more between the highest and lowest commission rates. At the Haman Rest Area (Busan-bound), the store with the highest commission rate is 53%, while the lowest is 20%, showing a difference of 33 percentage points.

This is an aspect worth examining to see if the high commission burden is related to the prices of rest area food. As a result of comparing 10 representative food items, prices at stores operated through leases were more expensive than those at stores classified by the Expressway Corporation as "specialized industry leases (direct management)" for 7 items. The average price differences were 683 won for pork cutlet (donkatsu), 454 won for udon, and 443 won for walnut pastries.

Nationwide expressway rest area sales and rents have increased simultaneously. Over the past five years, total rest area sales reached 6.4093 trillion won, and the rent paid by operating companies to the Expressway Corporation amounted to 8453 billion won. Annual sales surged by 40.0% from 981.3 billion won in 2021 to 1.3734 trillion won last year. In comparison, rent increased by 61.1% from 115.5 billion won to 186.1 billion won.

Representative Kim pointed out, "It is necessary to check whether it is reasonable for commission rates to well exceed 50% and for the gap within the same rest area to reach more than four times," adding, "The Expressway Corporation must transparently manage the standards and disclosure procedures for calculating commissions."

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