[Column] 'Refrain from Disaster Relief Fund Card Marketing' Who Is This Recommendation For?

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] "Isn't it discriminatory that some people receive additional benefits depending on whether they receive text messages or not?"

The government's disaster relief fund, which has been controversial since its inception, is now embroiled in chaos following a self-donation incident and the cancellation of card benefits. The disaster relief fund, which began accepting applications through card companies' online websites from the 11th of this month, was processed relatively smoothly without incidents such as server crashes on the first day. Complaints, however, erupted from an unexpected source: confusion over marketing related to the disaster relief fund.

Samsung Card canceled the disaster relief fund application event it had originally planned on the morning of that day. Customers protested vehemently against the sudden cancellation. Ultimately, Samsung Card issued a statement in the afternoon saying it would provide event benefits only to customers who had received prior text notifications.

This incident occurred due to the financial authorities' directive to refrain from marketing related to the disaster relief fund. On the 8th, Eun Sung-soo, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, requested, "Please refrain from excessive marketing activities aimed at attracting applications for the relief fund." He also simultaneously urged a mindset of fulfilling a historic mission and a sense of responsibility in carrying out government duties.

In response to the authorities' sudden recommendation, card companies that had hoped to attract new customers had no choice but to cancel their disaster relief fund marketing events one after another overnight. BC Card and NH Nonghyup Card, which had planned cashback events and gift certificate giveaways, put their events on hold entirely. Only Woori Card, which had notified dormant card customers of an event before the authorities' recommendation, decided to proceed as scheduled. This ironically resulted in a situation where customers who had consistently used their cards were excluded, and only customers with lower contribution levels received benefits.

Considering the crisis situation of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the nature of the disaster relief fund, the financial authorities' recommendation is somewhat reasonable. However, it is worth reflecting on whether this recommendation constitutes excessive market intervention. Card companies invested hundreds of millions of won to build systems on behalf of the government for this disaster relief fund distribution. They also continue to provide existing card usage benefits for disaster relief fund payments. Considering that marketing could further stimulate consumption, leaving it to the discretion of card companies would have better aligned with the purpose of distributing the disaster relief fund. Could the authorities' overcautiousness have dampened efforts to revitalize consumption?