Suggested citations
AGLC 4 | 사회주의상업법 2010 [Socialist Commercial Law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (2010)] [tr Daye Gang].
Bluebook | Sahoejuuisangeobbeob 2010 [Socialist Commercial Law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (2010)] translated in Law and North Korea by Daye Gang, https://www.lawandnorthkorea.com/.
Adopted on January 29, Juche 81 (1992), as Decision No. 13 of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Amended and supplemented on January 28, Juche 88 (1999), as Directive No. 381 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Amended and supplemented on May 22, Juche 91 (2002), as Directive No. 3052 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Amended and supplemented on June 24, Juche 93 (2004), as Directive No. 507 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Amended and supplemented on March 11, Juche 97 (2008), as Directive No. 2614 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Amended and supplemented on May 18, Juche 99 (2010), as Directive No. 850 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
CHAPTER I. BASICS OF SOCIALIST COMMERCIAL LAW
Article 1 (Objectives of Socialist Commercial Law)
Socialist commerce is work to provide supplies to people and is work to satisfy their material and cultural demands. The Socialist Commercial Law of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea shall strictly adopt systems and order in commercial activities to develop production distribution and labour work, and shall serve to advance the people’s standard of living.
Article 2 (Principle of product supply)
The State shall correctly execute manufacture-on-demand in product supply to correctly interconnect demands for products to production, and shall supply produced products to consumers in time.
Article 3 (Principle of creating and securing product source)
The State shall create product sources based on the solid foundations of the independent national economy, strengthen the work of purchasing and manufacturing, and shall mobilize product reserves to secure more products.
Article 4 (Principle of labour)
The State shall strongly open up the labour revolution to improve commercial organization and technical and labour methods, shall realize the modernization of commercial facilities and scientization of business activities, and shall raise the cultural character and working spirit of commerce.
Article 5 (Principle of commercial management)
The State shall correctly adopt a guidance management system for commerce and shall scientifically and rationally administer and operate socialist commerce.
Article 6 (Principle of product distribution)
The State shall strengthen and develop product distribution work in conformity with the requirements of socialist commercial development, and shall gradually become a complete supply system according to maturing conditions.
Article 7 (Exchange and cooperation in the field of commerce)
The State shall develop exchange and cooperation with other countries and international organizations in the field of commerce.
CHAPTER II. PRODUCT SUPPLY
Article 8 (Basic requirements of product supply)
Product supply is important work to secure and supply products in conformity with the increasing material and cultural demands of people to assure a more affluent and civilized standard of life to people. Central commercial guidance institutions and local political institutions shall command products in a standardized way and must supply required products to people so that they are evenly allocated.
Article 9 (Proper supply of products)
Wholesale commerce institutions and enterprises shall receive orders for products to interconnect it to production, shall secure products and exchange them between areas well, and must normally supply products to retail commerce institutions and enterprises. Retail commerce institutions and enterprises shall correctly take over products and supply them to people.
Article 10 (Manufacture-on-demand)
Product supply is supply according to manufacture-on-demand. State planning institutions, State commercial guidance institutions, local political institutions, and commerce institutions and enterprises shall research the demands of people to draft product order sheets, and must draft plans for production of products and income, distribution, and supply based upon them. Institutions, enterprises and organizations that produce or import products must produce or import products according to State planning and supply them to the relevant units.
Article 11 (Distribution of products)
The central commercial guidance institution shall take over the whole volume of the product from state planning institutions to distribute products by province (or municipality directly under central authority), and province (or municipality directly under central authority) political institutions must distribute them by city (or district) or county. Institutions, enterprises and organizations may not take over production distribution units by the institution itself.
Article 12 (Product supply contracts)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations involved in commerce and production or import of products shall conclude product supply contracts based on the product supply plan of the State and shall fulfil it without fail. Takeovers and consignments of produced or imported products shall be done by the wholesale commerce institution or enterprise according to the product supply plan.
Article 13 (Food supply)
Local political institutions and institutions, enterprises and organizations that produce products must manage their bases of raw materials and must produce many kinds of food with the raw material sources produced to supply it to the people.
Article 14 (Supply of marine products)
Commercial institutions and enterprises must receive marine products to supply residents from institutions, enterprises and organizations that deal in marine products and evenly supply them to residents in the relevant areas.
Article 15 (Supply of reserve products)
State planning institutions and institutions, enterprises and organizations that produce products must preferentially assure the production of reserve products such as daily necessities, building materials, and products that should be stocked in shops in farming areas
as determined by the State. Commerce institutions and enterprises must not run out of reserve products and must supply them normally.
Article 16 (Product supply for children’s use)
Relevant central bodies, local political institutions, and institutions, enterprises and organizations involved in production of products and commerce must produce and supply products for children’s use, such as nutritious food products, as a prerequisite.
Article 17 (Guaranteeing products to distribute to cooperative farms settlement)
Central commerce guidance institutions, local political institutions, and commerce institutions and enterprises must leave a part of important products in the total volume of products to intensively supply them at the settlement distribution time of cooperative farms.
Institutions, enterprises and organizations that produce products must assure production of products to send to farming areas in time.
Article 18 (Product supply of important subjects)
The central commerce guidance institution and local political institutions, commerce institutions and enterprises must preferentially supply products to important subjects including coal mines and mines. Labour protection supplies and preferential products must be correctly supplied according to standards.
Article (Self-manufacture of products)
Local political institutions and commerce institutions and enterprises must self-manufacture work for products such as different subsidiary foods, children’s clothing, and small-scale daily necessities.
Article 20 (Product sales for travellers’ use)
Local political institutions and relevant commerce institutions and enterprises shall secure products for travellers, shall manage kiosks at important station compounds and stops, and must normally sell things such as travel products, regional specialties, and carbonated drinks. Railway transportation institutions must assure the conditions to sell products that travellers need.
Article 21 (Fuel supply for civilian use)
State planning institutions and relevant institutions and enterprises must produce fuel for civilian use by interconnecting it with the plan, and must evenly supply it to households and the relevant institutions, enterprises and organisations in the demanufacturing sector. Transportation institutions and relevant institutions and enterprises must transport fuel for civilian use in time.
Article 22 (Credit guarantee system)
The State shall execute a credit guarantee system to assure the quality of daily goods such as electrical goods and electronic products. The work of determining the kinds of products and period for executing a credit guarantee system shall be done by Cabinet.
Article 23 (Command and conduct of product distribution)
Relevant central bodies, local political institutions, and commerce institutions and enterprises shall adopt a command and conduct system for product distribution and must regularly command and conduct the work of securing and supplying important products. Things like the exchange of products between areas and products that have accumulated or become unusable must be adjusted and treated in time.
Article 24 (Creation of product reserves)
Central commerce guidance institutions must create product reserves required for natural damage and subjects that have been especially raised. Created product reserves shall be supplied through relevant commerce institutions and enterprises.
Article 25 (Operation of direct sales stores)
Direct sales stores operated by central bodies shall mainly sell products newly made in enterprises of their sector, shall extend the types of products based on researching the people’s demands, and must raise the quality. Direct sales stores may not sell products that are produced in institutions, enterprises and organizations of sectors that are different to the products that are supplied to residents according to standards.
Article 26 (Transportation and delivery of products)
Transportation institutions and communications institutions must transport and deliver products according to the transportation plan.
Article 27 (Prohibition on illegal sale of product)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations may not take away products for residents’ use under pretexts such as meetings, lessons, competitions, or support, or sell and supply products by abusing personal acquaintances or authority, without the approval of the central commerce institution.
CHAPTER III. PURCHASE
Article 28 (Basic requirements of purchase)
Doing purchasing well satisfies the demands of residents about food by connecting cities and farming areas, and production and consumption, and is an important way to assure the raw material and resources required for industry. The commerce guidance institution and purchasing institutions and enterprises shall mobilize and purchase agricultural produce and industrial raw material sources using different forms and methods.
Article 29 (Adherence to principle of voluntariness in purchases)
Purchasing institutions and enterprises must correctly combine the interests of the State and vendors in purchasing work, and must abide by the principle of voluntariness.
Article 30 (Classification of purchases)
Purchases shall be planned purchases or free purchases. Purchasing institutions and enterprises shall purchase agricultural produce according to the purchasing plan for each indicator and must freely purchase things like agricultural byproducts, livestock products, medicinal herbs, and old materials from residents.
Article 31 (Diversification of purchasing)
Relevant central bodies shall diversify their purchasing work using the method of the institutions and enterprises using the purchased products directly purchasing and must research and mobilize purchasing reasons to the maximum.
Article 32 (Diversification of purchases)
The relevant authorities and purchasing institutions and enterprises must diversify purchasing work using methods such as contractual purchase, barter purchase, consignment purchase, pre-order purchase, and purchasing by visiting place to place, in conformity with the dispersibility of the purchase source and the nature of the types of purchased products.
Article 33 (Drafting purchasing plan)
Relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations shall create and extend purchasing bases and sources, and shall adopt and implement plans by the total cost of purchased products, by indicator, and by period, by investigating and commanding purchase sources.
Article 34 (Contractual purchase of edible agricultural products)
Commerce institutions and enterprises that supply to residents and do labour must conclude a contract with and purchase from production units edible agricultural products such as vegetables or livestock products produced by State-operated and cooperative farms’ public economy, according to the purchasing plan. Commerce institutions and enterprises and State-operated and cooperative farms must fulfil contracts of purchase without fail.
Article 35 (Purchase of products held by residents)
Relevant institutions and purchasing institutions and enterprises shall make shops in farming areas as a base to purchase products for sale that residents have, and must take them away in time.
Article 36 (Purchase of wild edible greens and wild fruit)
Relevant central bodies and local political institutions must intensively do gathering work at times when there are many wild edible greens and wild fruit and shall purchase more of them.
Article 37 (Kinds and establishment of standards of purchased products, publicity of purchase)
State planning institutions must determine the kind and specifications of purchased products by each relevant central body. Relevant institutions and publishing and reporting institutions must organize and conduct purchasing publicity work using different forms and methods. Institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens must willingly participate in purchasing work.
Article 38 (Purchase of spare goods and prohibition on confirming the identity of the seller)
Commerce institutions and enterprises shall manage purchase shops by area and must purchase spare goods that residents have. In these cases, the identity of the seller must not be confirmed and the provenance of the goods must not be queried.
CHAPTER IV. PUBLIC FOOD DISTRIBUTION
Article 39 (Basic requirements of public food distribution)
Public food distribution improves the dietary life of workers and is work to relieve the burden on women from housework. Public food distribution institutions, enterprises and organizations must make food that conforms to people’s preferences and to hygiene and nutritional requirements and supply it.
Article 40 (Types of food)
Public food distribution institutions, enterprises and organizations must increase the types of food from the principle of well showcasing the nature of our people and regional distinct characteristics while keeping as a foundation things such as public meals and cuisine that people enjoy.
Article 41 (Quality of food)
The central commerce guidance institution, local political institutions, and public food distribution institutions, enterprises and organizations shall specialize in and scientize food production, and shall organize things like cooking lessons and contests and experience exchange meetings and raise the quality of food.
Article 42 (Carbonated drinks)
Public food distribution and carbonated drinks production institutions, enterprises and organizations must make and supply carbonated drinks using raw materials common in our country. Carbonated drinks must be sold by making things like carbonated drinks stores, portable kiosks and mobile stands in required places.
Article 43 (Manufacture of principal foods)
Central commerce guidance institutions, local political institutions, and relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations shall manage rice factories, noodle factories, and bread factories in cities, labour complexes and farming areas, in conformity with the demands of residents, and must manufacture and supply principal foods.
Article 44 (Hygiene in production and supply of food)
Central commerce guidance institutions, local political institutions, and public food distribution institutions, enterprises and organizations must hold things such as the kitchen facilities, equipment and tools of restaurants in conformity with their nature, and must abide by hygienic cultural requirements in the production and supply of food. Public health institutions must regularly conduct health examinations for public food distribution workers.
Article 45 (Inn labour)
Local political institutions and relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations must manage inns by area in conformity with demand. Inns shall organize labour well to assure the convenience of the guests.
Article 46 (Production of primary processed products and semi-finished products)
Local political institutions and public food distribution institutions, enterprises and organizations must manage semi-finished product factories and produce primary processed products and semi-finished products to supply to restaurants.
Article 47 (Supply of raw materials)
Central commerce guidance institutions, local political institutions, and relevant institutions must manage raw materials bases for public food distribution and food manufacture and must supply many kinds of raw materials to restaurants and food shops. Commerce institutions and enterprises may receive the approval of relevant institutions to use non-agricultural land as raw materials bases.
CHAPTER V. COMMUNITY SERVICE
Article 48 (Basic requirements of community service)
Doing community service correctly is an important requirement to give assistance to people’s material and cultural standards and to protect and promote their health. Central commerce guidance institutions and local political institutions shall manage community service networks such as hygiene service, manufacture service, repair service, and useability service, shall determine the type of work, and must extensively accept the foregoing labour methods.
Article 49 (credit guarantee system)
The State shall execute a credit guarantee system for repair labour of things such as key family cultural goods to raise the quality of community service. The work of determining the kinds of goods and periods to execute the credit guarantee system shall be done by the central commerce guidance institution.
Article 50 (Administration and operation of community service facilities)
Community service institutions, enterprises and organizations shall administer and operate community service facilities to guarantee comfort to the people, and must assure cultural hygiene in community service.
Article 51 (Convenient purchasing)
Local political institutions and community service institutions, enterprises and organizations shall manage convenient purchasing shops by area, and must purchase consumer goods that residents seek to sell to resell them or repair them again and sell them.
Article 52 (Community service in the home)
Local political institutions and community service institutions, enterprises and organizations must extensively operate community service domestic labour units and community service workers in the home. The organization and placement of community service domestic labour units and community service workers in the home shall be done by the commerce guidance institution.
Article 53 (Guarantee of resources and components for community service)
State planning institutions, trade institutions and relevant institutions must assure resources and components for community service use by interconnecting it with plans. Commerce guidance institutions must normally supply resources and components for community service use.
CHAPTER VI. STORING AND MANAGING PRODUCTS
Article 54 (Basic requirements of product storage and management)
Product storage and management must massively inspect and sort products and
correctly store them, must eliminate product losses, and is work to have varieties and assortments to supply products of good quality to people. Commerce guidance institutions and commerce institutions and enterprises must hold warehouses required for product storage and management according to standards, and must store and manage those products in conformity with their nature.
Article 55 (Standard inventory of products and turnover ratios of products)
Commerce institutions and enterprises must have standard inventories of products, and must improve the organization of product distribution to raise turnover ratios of products. The work of determining standard inventories of products shall be done by the central commerce guidance institutions.
Article 56 (Product inspections and incomings and outgoings)
Commerce institutions and enterprises shall do product inspections and incomings and outgoings according to what is designated and must eliminate accidents in the product distribution process by keeping a current inventory of goods well. Product losses and accidents discovered in the inspection process must be treated in time.
Article 57 (Storage and refrigeration of food)
State planning institutions and relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations shall manage storage and refrigeration facilities at food production sites and consumption sites, and most do food storage and management well. Goods that can damage food storage may not be placed in food storage and refrigeration facilities.
Article 58 (Packaging containers for products)
Commerce institutions and enterprises shall arrange packaging containers for each kind of product required for their own business activities, and mus use them rationally. Packaging containers may be recovered and reused.
Article 59 (Packaging containers for products)
Commerce institutions and enterprises must regularly conduct product inspections. Deficiencies that have appeared in product inspections must be corrected in time.
Article 60 (Protection of products and commercial facilities)
Relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations must do the work of protecting products and commercial facilities well. In required place, the approval of the relevant authorities may be received to place security guards.
Article 61 (Management of property in goods)
Institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens must value and carefully operate property, including products in the commercial sector, and must not destroy or damage it.
CHAPTER VII. CULTURAL CHARACTER AND WORKING SPIRIT OF COMMERCE
Article 62 (Management of community service networks)
Raising the cultural character and working spirit of commerce is a fundamental character requirement of socialist commerce that serves the people. Commerce institutions, enterprises and organizations must manage community service networks in a culturally hygienic manner, must manage them frugally, and must provide convenient labour to the people.
Article 63 (Organization of community service networks)
Central commerce guidance institutions and local political institutions shall rationally place specialist and comprehensive community service networks in conformity with the nature of the residential area and the demands of the people, and must determine the types of community service in conformity with reality.
Article 64 (Labour district management system)
Commerce institutions and enterprises shall correctly execute a labour district management system to smoothly guarantee the living convenience of people, and must have sufficient products in shops and kiosks, and must sell required products to the people.
Article 65 (Packaging of product)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations that produce products shall package products in many kinds of forms in conformity with the physical and chemical nature, use, and specifications, and must make and stick logos and price tags with cultural character.
Article 66 (Display, lighting, and advertising of products)
Commerce institutions, enterprises and organizations must display, light and advertise products so they have cultural character. Product advertising must be done in a designated form with the approval of the relevant authorities.
Article 67 (Form and method of work)
Central commerce guidance institutions, local political institutions, and commerce institutions, enterprises and organizations must accept many forms and methods of work, such as morning or evening labour, labour in rounds, order delivery labour, and self-driven labour. In these cases, the time period for labour must be determined rationally and abided by.
Article 68 (Duties of commerce workers)
Commerce workers are faithful servants of the people who have taken responsibility for people’s standard of living. Commerce workers shall use their “our family notebook” in commanding and supplying according to product demands to emulate the experienced obtained to supply required products to residents, and must always labour for the people with cultural character and kindness.
CHAPTER VIII. MODERNIZATION OF COMMERCIAL FACILITIES, SCIENTIZATION AND RATIONALIZATION OF COMMERCIAL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Article 69 (Basic requirements of modernization, scientization, rationalization of commerce)
Modernizing commercial facilities and scientizing and rationalizing commercial business administration is a basic requirement for strengthening and developing the commerce of the country into the most superior socialist commerce for the people and public. Commerce guidance institutions and relevant institutions must do the work of modernizing work buildings, facilities, equipment, and tools so that they have good prospects, and must assure the material and technical means to be able to scientize and rationalize commercial business activities.
Article 70 (Construction of community service networks)
In cases where State planning institutions, construction guidance institutions, and local political institutions seek to construct homes, the construction of community service networks will be predicted, and they must plan the construction of community service networks according to a constant proportion of an annual home construction plan.
Local political institutions and commerce institutions, enterprises and organizations, must manage well the community service networks they have already constructed.
Article 71 (Mechanization of commercial sector work)
Central commerce guidance institutions, local political institutions, and commerce institutions and enterprises must mechanize, semi-automate, automate, and robotize commercial sector work, and must have refrigeration facilities at food shops and restaurants. State planning institutions, machine industry guidance institutions, commerce guidance institutions, and relevant institutions and enterprises shall manage commerce facilities and equipment production bases, and must produce and assure facilities and equipment such as calculations, refrigeration, sales facilities, and display tools required for the modernization of commercial facilities in a planned way.
Article 72 (Installation of signs and decorations)
Local political institutions and commerce institutions, enterprises and organizations must make and install signs and electric decorations in different forms to look good, in conformity with the nature and scale for each type of business in commerce networks.
Article 73 (Guarantee of conditions for commercial sector)
State planning institutions, labour administration institutions, resources supply institutions, and financial banking institutions must assure the required labour, facilities, resources, and funds to the commercial sector in time.
Article 74 (Registration and use of commerce buildings, structures, and facilities)
Central commerce guidance institutions, local political institutions, and commerce institutions, enterprises and organizations must correctly register, administer, and operate things like commercial labour building, structures, and facilities. Things such as commercial labour buildings, structures, and facilities may not be used for a different purpose without the approval of central commerce guidance institutions and local political institutions.
Article 75 (Modernization of commercial business administration)
Commerce institutions, enterprises and organizations must accept things like computers and modernize commercial business administration. The commercial sector must accept the results of the newest scientific techniques in time.
Article 76 (Measurement of product)
Commerce institutions, enterprises and organizations must modernize the means of measurement and must correctly measure products. The means of measurement must receive regular certification.
Article 77 (Labor quotas and raising technical ability levels in the commercial sector)
Central commerce guidance institutions, local political institutions, and commerce institutions, enterprises and organizations shall correctly determine labor quotas in the commercial sector, and shall normalize technical education among commerce workers to systematically raise their technical ability levels.
Article 78 (Commercial scientific research)
Commercial scientific research institutions must do scientific research according to the plan to develop science and technology in commerce so that it has good prospects and must put strength into resolving urgent issues raised in the commercial sector. State planning institutions and central commerce guidance institutions shall strongly manage the scientific research base in the commercial sector and must assure things such as experiment equipment and reagents required for scientific research.
Article 79 (Maintenance of commercial facilities)
Central commerce guidance institutions, local political institutions, and commerce institutions, enterprises and organizations must adopt a planned preventive maintenance system for commercial facilities and must normally service and maintain them.
CHAPTER IX. GUIDANCE AND CONTROL OVER COMMERCIAL SECTOR WORK
Article 80 (Basic requirements of guidance and control over commercial sector work)
Strengthening guidance and control over commercial sector work is an important guarantee to implement the commerce policy of the State. The State must strengthen guidance ork and supervision and control work over the commercial sector.
Article 81 (Guidance and permission to operate in commercial sector work)
Guidance for commercial sector work shall be done in a standardized way by the central commerce guidance institution under the guidance of Cabinet. The central commerce guidance institution shall correctly adopt a guidance system for commercial sector work to responsibly command and guide labour activities for product distribution and people. Institutions, enterprises and organizations seeking to operate a shop, restaurant, or community service network must receive permission to operate from the given commerce guidance institution and must do their business operations according to the designated order.
Article 82 (Product distribution plan)
State planning institutions and relevant institutions must adopt commercial sector plans, including product distribution plans, in conformity with the national economic development plan, and must correctly implement it. The production of the product and income and supply plans may not be cut down or adjusted at will.
Article 83 (Self-financing)
Central commerce guidance institutions and local political institutions must correctly execute self-financing in the business activities of commerce institutions, enterprises and organizations, systematically lower distribution costs, and must perform financial plans without fail.
Article 84 (Training of technical experts, professionals, technical engineers)
Central commerce guidance institutions and relevant education institutions must correctly adopt a training system for technical experts, professionals, and technical engineers in the commercial sector to train the technical experts and professionals of this sector in a planned way.
Article 85 (Creation and generalisation of role models)
Commerce guidance institutions and commerce institutions, enterprises and organizations shall create role models in the commercial sector and must actively open up a movement to learn from it.
Article 86 (Administration and operation of markets)
Central commerce guidance institutions and local political institutions must use markets as an auxiliary space for socialist economic administration. Products that are not allowed to be sold may not be sold, and products may not be sold in excess of price limits, at the markets. The act of selling products may not be done outside of a market.
Article 87 (Supervision and control for commercial sector work)
Supervision and control for commercial sector work shall be done by the commerce guidance institution and the relevant supervision and control institution. The commerce guidance institution and the relevant supervision and control institution must strengthen supervision and control work for product distribution and labour activities.
Article 88 (Cancellation charges, confiscation, suspension of operations, penalty)
In cases where products have been illegally put to different use without supplying it according to plans and contracts, a performance evaluation according to the plan shall not be done, and cancellation charges shall be paid or the products and money traded shall be confiscated. Shops, restaurants, and community service networks that have not received permission to operate or operate with prices that have not received the approval of the State price determining institution shall have their operations suspended or a penalty shall be charged.
Article 89 (Administrative or criminal responsibility)
Responsible workers of institutions, enterprises and organizations and individual citizens that cause grave consequences to product distribution and labour work by violating this law shall have administrative or criminal responsibility imposed depending on the gravity.
Last updated 21 August 2020