Convenience store owners in South Korea are urging the government to come up with “comprehensive measures” to help them deal with a crisis triggered by the minimum wage hike. 

At a press conference on Tuesday in front of the Korea Association of Convenience Store Industry, the Korea Franchise Union claimed the “unilateral measure” to raise the minimum wage is driving small business owners to the verge of bankruptcy. 

They also claimed that without an overhaul of their profit-making structures, their monthly incomes will fall to below 900-thousand won a month on average next year.

They called for the government to cut credit card commission fees, ease burdens on property leasing and to expand tax benefits. 

They also argued that franchise headquarters are sucking up most of the profits under the current profit-making structures and they urged the government to change it. 

According to the union, the average sales of the franchise headquarters increased three-point-three fold over a decade through 2016, while sales at convenience stores only grew one-point-two fold on average during the same period.