"Just Do Business Elsewhere"... Seongsimdang Faces 400 Million Won Monthly Rent Demand, Daejeon Station Branch at Risk of Closure

Sungsimdang Daejeon Station Branch, Temporary Extension of Operation Period Until October

The Seongsimdang bakery at Daejeon Station, considered the top attraction in Daejeon, is facing the risk of eviction. This is due to the rent increasing nearly fourfold within a year, causing a heavy financial burden.

Monthly rent reduced from 400 million won to 350 million won... Interest in contract renewal

Seongsimdang. [Image source=Naver Map]

Since opening at Daejeon Station in November 2012, Seongsimdang relocated in 2019 to its current location on the second floor of the station, reportedly paying over 100 million won monthly as a commission fee to KORAIL Distribution under the name of rent.

However, KORAIL Distribution set the monthly commission fee at 441 million won?more than four times the previous amount?when the contract with Seongsimdang expired last April and announced a call for new tenants. KORAIL Distribution calculates the monthly rent for leased stores by applying a certain commission rate based on sales revenue.

Nevertheless, the high monthly commission repeatedly failed to attract bidders at auction. With each re-announcement, the commission fee has been lowered to the current 350 million won. However, this is still about three times higher than the previous rate. Meanwhile, Seongsimdang at Daejeon Station, whose contract was due to expire last month, is reported to have temporarily extended its operation period until October.

This news was shared through various online communities under posts titled "Current status of Seongsimdang bakery at Daejeon Station with 100 million won monthly rent." Netizens expressed diverse opinions such as "If not Seongsimdang, who else would pay that much rent for that spot?", "What fault does KORAIL have for following the set rules?", "If the rent is burdensome, they can do business elsewhere," "So many people go to Daejeon because of Seongsimdang," and "Curious whether they will renew the contract."

Seongsimdang's sales reached 124.3 billion won last year... Operating profit was 31.5 billion won

Seongsimdang Main Store. [Image source=Instagram]

Meanwhile, Seongsimdang started as a street stall in front of Daejeon Station in 1956 and has grown into a famous bakery representing Daejeon. In line with its management philosophy of "not opening branches outside of Daejeon," Seongsimdang can only be found in Daejeon. Currently, Seongsimdang operates in four locations: the main store in Eunhang-dong, Daejeon Station, Lotte Department Store Daejeon branch, and Daejeon Convention Center. Seongsimdang has become famous not only for its taste but also for its reasonable prices, earning a reputation as a bakery with high cost-effectiveness (value for money).

Due to this popularity, last year Seongsimdang surpassed the domestic operating profits of large bakery franchises such as Paris Baguette and Tous Les Jours. Rosso Co., Ltd., which operates Seongsimdang, recorded sales of 124.3 billion won last year, a 52% increase compared to the previous year. Operating profit was 31.5 billion won, a 104.2% increase from 15.4 billion won the previous year. This is higher than last year's operating profits of Paris Croissant (19.9 billion won), which operates Paris Baguette, and CJ Foodville (21.4 billion won), which operates Tous Les Jours.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.