North Korea’s newly rich, known as donjuLiterally "masters of money," donju refers to people who hav... More, are buying shuttered state-run stores and converting them into wholesale shops through black market trade. Despite being reserved for retired military officers to renovate into homes, these properties are being snatched up by donjuLiterally "masters of money," donju refers to people who hav... More instead, Daily NK has learned.
“The stores, which were once used to sell fruits and vegetables, are transferred to the city administration department under the provincial People’s Committee and assigned to discharged military officers,” a source from South Pyongan Province told Daily NK. “But donjuLiterally "masters of money," donju refers to people who hav... More are buying the old stores for an average 2,000 USD (from these officers) through black markets and running wholesale stores out of them.”
This comes as an increasing number of state stores are becoming obsolete. “With state-run factories and companies shutting down, there have not been enough products to sell at these neighborhood shops,” the source explained. This has led to calls for the number of these stores to be reduced and some end up being transferred to the purview of other departments, he said, adding “the stores then receive renewed licenses as 13-pyong (43 square meter) plots for residences and are distributed to retired military officers.”
The price donjuLiterally "masters of money," donju refers to people who hav... More pay differs depending on where the building is located, but a typical open-floor structure that’s the size of 8 pyong (24 square meters) is not outfitted for residential purposes, making it cheaper. “Most stores in rural areas are cheaper than 2,000 USD, and the ones in nice urban areas on main roads are sold at above 3,000 USD,” said the source.
This illicit trade of old property has led to a shortage in homes for retired officers, and some end up living in rented out rooms elsewhere. This is because in many cases upon receiving these ‘homes’ after a long wait, they do not have enough funds to renovate the buildings. The property often ends up being nothing more than a ‘dream home’ for these officials, the source explained.
Retired officers are assigned to these old state stores based on their date of discharge and the number of family members, but facing the steep renovation costs it typically takes at least three years and sometimes even longer to move into their homes. “Recently, there were plans to transform fruit stores that had shut down into homes for five households in Pyongan Province, but the retirees didn’t have enough money, so they ended up selling their property off to donjuLiterally "masters of money," donju refers to people who hav... More,” the source said.
With the money they receive from donjuLiterally "masters of money," donju refers to people who hav... More, seen as a reward for their decades of service in the military, retirees buy homes on the outskirts of cities or put it towards their livelihoods instead, he added.
“State-run businesses are usually located in front of train stations and on main roads, so to market vendors they are considered to be prime real estate,” the source said. “For donjuLiterally "masters of money," donju refers to people who hav... More, it’s more affordable to buy the property off from retired officers than bribe People’s Committee cadre, so that’s why they go down that route.”
There are roughly three to five state-run stores that fall under the People’s Committee business administration department in each neighborhood, where they sell basic daily goods at state prices. Even after purchasing the property, donjuLiterally "masters of money," donju refers to people who hav... More only get de facto ownership, meaning they are unable to individually possess and resell the property. However, they do get to retain the right to manage operations out of the facility, according to the source.
