"Sold Out Upon Release" ... 'Seoul Sarang Gift Certificate' Additional 180 Billion KRW Sales Starting from the 13th

Seoul City Offers 7-10% Discounts in 24 of 25 Districts
Franchise Stores Increase to 240,000 Thanks to Untact Consumption

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The Seoul Metropolitan Government will issue an additional 180 billion KRW worth of 'Seoul Love Gift Certificates' through the third supplementary budget urgently prepared to prepare for the 'post-COVID-19' era.

Seoul announced on the 8th that from the 13th of this month, the Seoul Love Gift Certificates can be purchased at a 7-10% discount through 12 payment apps.

The autonomous districts issuing additional Seoul Love Gift Certificates total 24, excluding Jongno-gu. The basic discount rate is 7%, but Dobong-gu, Nowon-gu, Eunpyeong-gu, Seodaemun-gu, Dongjak-gu, Gwanak-gu, Gangnam-gu, and others offer a special 10% discount through their own secured funds.

To prevent system failures such as a surge in simultaneous access to the gift certificate payment apps on the opening day of additional issuance, the city separated sales schedules by district and expanded the gift certificate operation servers.

The Seoul Love Gift Certificates are mobile gift certificates issued by each autonomous district to revitalize local small businesses and increase sales of small merchants. They can be conveniently used at any Zero Pay affiliated store within the region, excluding large-scale stores or gambling-related businesses.

When the issuance target of 200 billion KRW for this year was exhausted early in April, an additional 40 billion KRW was issued in May through the second supplementary budget, but this also sold out on the day of issuance. Seoul explained that the maximum 15% discount sales, contactless payment methods, and convenience of use at many affiliated stores received positive responses from consumers, leading to early sell-outs in 24 autonomous districts.

In particular, as an emergency economic measure responding to the damage caused by the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), 139.7 billion KRW was issued as Seoul Love Gift Certificates through Seoul's disaster emergency living expenses and government emergency disaster relief funds, bringing the total issuance to 375.2 billion KRW combining policy issuance and general issuance.

The number of available affiliated stores is also continuously increasing. Over the past four months, about 73,000 new affiliated stores have been added, and as of July, Zero Pay and Seoul Love Gift Certificates can be used at approximately 249,000 affiliated stores.

In a usage survey conducted by Seoul in May targeting 322 small business owners, 83.2% of respondents answered that Seoul Love Gift Certificates had a positive impact on increasing small business sales, and 81.5% of consumers who used them expressed an intention to repurchase.

In line with the Seoul Love Gift Certificate discount sales, Seoul will hold a prize event from July 21 to August 17, where customers who submit Zero Pay or Seoul Love Gift Certificate payment receipts of 3,000 KRW or more on the Seoul city website (www.seoul.go.kr) will be entered into a draw to win various prizes such as laptops and vacuum cleaners.

Park Won-soon, Mayor of Seoul, said, "As Seoul Love Gift Certificates sold out early due to various benefits and ease of use, consumer demand for additional issuance continued," and added, "Small business owners and self-employed people enjoy zero payment fees, and consumers practice social distancing through contactless consumption using mobile devices, thereby practicing good consumption that revitalizes local businesses."