"Claim Your 4.8 Billion Won Lotto Jackpot" What Happens If the Winner Does Not Come Forward?

Photo by Donghaeng Lottery Capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] The owner of the 4.8 billion won Lotto prize drawn last June has yet to come forward, drawing attention to the future direction of the lottery.

According to Donghaeng Lottery, the lottery operator, on the 31st of last month, the first prize winner of the 861st Lotto draw held on June 1 last year has not yet claimed the prize money of approximately 4.8721 billion won.

The deadline for claiming lottery winnings is one year from the payment start date (the draw date). Therefore, as of tomorrow (the 2nd), the prize money for the 861st draw will revert to the lottery fund.

The unclaimed Lotto ticket was sold at a Lotto sales outlet in Cheongju-si, Chungbuk Province last year.

Last month, Donghaeng Lottery posted the winning numbers for the 861st first prize (11, 17, 19, 21, 22, 25) on its website, urging the winner to claim the prize, but no winner has come forward yet.

50,000 won in cash. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, the second prize winner of the 861st draw has also not claimed their prize. The total prize money for the first and second prizes (4,997,000 won each) amounts to 4.92208 billion won.

According to Donghaeng Lottery, as of the 23rd, unclaimed first and second prize winnings nearing expiration within two months total 8.991 billion won. If the claim deadline of the 2nd is passed, all unclaimed prize money will be transferred to the national treasury.

There have been previous cases where Lotto first prize winnings were not claimed. For example, in the 439th Lotto draw held in April 2011, one of the six first prize winners (with a prize of 1.9707374 billion won) did not claim their prize.

Fifty percent of total Lotto sales revenue is paid out as prize money. Of the remaining 50%, after deducting 8% for operating expenses, 42% goes to the lottery fund, which is used for public interest projects such as cultural heritage protection and housing stability support for low-income groups.