Government 'Emergency Disaster Relief Fund' Credit and Debit Card Recharge Application Deadline June 5

Bank Counter Reception Will End Day-Based System Starting Next Week
Prepaid Card and Local Love Gift Certificate Reception at Community Centers Will Continue

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] To receive the government emergency disaster relief fund for the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) via credit card or debit card recharge, applications must be completed by June 5th.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 22nd that the application for emergency disaster relief fund credit/debit card recharge will close on June 5th. Considering that 88.5% of the total eligible 21.71 million households have received the relief fund within two weeks of the application opening, it was decided that there will not be much demand for applications going forward.

Accordingly, households wishing to receive the emergency disaster relief fund via credit/debit card recharge must apply online through the card company’s website or mobile app, or visit bank branches linked with the card companies within this period.

In particular, households that have moved to another metropolitan local government or plan to move must apply for credit/debit card recharge before June 5th and then change the usage area later. If a donation was mistakenly selected and needs to be corrected, the donation correction must also be requested to the relevant card company by this date.

However, applications for prepaid cards and local love gift certificates through eup/myeon/dong community service centers, rather than credit/debit cards, will continue even after June 5th.

The government also decided to lift the day-of-the-week system applied when accepting credit/debit card recharge applications at bank branches starting from the 25th of this month. Regardless of the last digit of the birth year, household heads can visit bank branches anytime to apply for the emergency disaster relief fund.

For prepaid cards and local love gift certificates applications at eup/myeon/dong community service center counters, local governments can decide whether to continue the day-of-the-week system depending on their circumstances. Currently, seven metropolitan governments including Seoul, Busan, Daegu, Gwangju, Gyeonggi, Jeonnam, and Jeju, as well as Iksan and Sunchang in Jeonbuk, plan to maintain the day-of-the-week system.

Yoon Jong-in, Vice Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, stated, "The emergency disaster relief fund must be used by August 31st, and any unused balance will be reclaimed," and requested, "We ask all citizens to unite in responsible consumption so that the emergency disaster relief fund helps revitalize the local economy and support neighborhood businesses."