Gumi City Provides 400,000 KRW Electronic Gift Cards to Child-Rearing Households

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Young-wook] Gumi City, Gyeongbuk Province announced on the 1st that it will provide childcare coupons to revitalize the local economy, which has been depressed due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), and to ease the burden on households raising children.

The recipients are about 28,000 households with children under the age of 7 who receive child allowances as of the end of March. A total of 11.2 billion KRW worth of gift certificates and electronic gift certificates, equivalent to 400,000 KRW per child, will be urgently supported entirely by national funds.

The payment method is to uniformly provide card points (400,000 KRW) in mid-month to government-supported cards (Ihaengbok Card, Gukmin Haengbok Card) used by households eligible for child allowances.

Households without cards can apply for and receive gift cards. Households with government-supported cards do not need to apply separately, and if more than two cards are used, the points will be applied first to the card with the most recent usage history.

Hwang Eun-chae, Director of the Childcare Division of Gumi City, said, "We expect this to help families struggling with childcare as daycare centers and kindergartens are closed due to COVID-19, and at the same time contribute to revitalizing the local economy facing a major crisis."