Seoul City "COVID-19 Coexistence National Support Fund, Applications Open from 6th"… Payment to 7.1 Million People

Choose from credit/check card, mobile Seoul Sarang gift certificate recharge, or prepaid card issuance methods
Use the National Support Fund at 450,000 affiliated stores across Seoul

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government will begin accepting applications for the "COVID-19 Coexistence National Support Fund" from the 6th to assist citizens struggling due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Seoul City on the 5th, the eligible recipients are 7.1 million people based on government selection criteria, including households with income below 80% of the health insurance premium standard assessed in June, single-person households, and special criteria for dual-income households. For dual-income households, the selection criteria table is applied with one additional household member, and for single-person households, the criteria table corresponding to an annual income of 58 million KRW is applied.

Even if the total health insurance premium contributions of household members by household size are below the selection criteria threshold, the following cases are excluded from eligibility: if the total property tax base of household members exceeded 900 million KRW last year, or if the total financial income of household members exceeded 20 million KRW last year. The application period is from the 6th to the 29th of next month, and applicants can choose one of the following payment methods: credit/debit card, mobile Seoul Sarang Gift Certificate recharge, or prepaid card issuance. Credit/debit cards and mobile Seoul Sarang Gift Certificates can be used from the day after application, while prepaid cards can be used immediately upon issuance.

To minimize inconvenience for citizens who have objections to the selection results for the National Support Fund recipients, an objection application procedure has been established. Applications can be made through the National Sinmungo and the community service centers based on the resident registration address.

To prevent access failures and congestion at reception desks, a weekday system based on the 'last digit of the birth year' will be applied during the 'first week' when eligibility inquiry, payment, and objection applications begin. Online objection applications and payment applications start from the 6th, and offline applications start from the 13th. Under the weekday system, applications can be made on Monday if the birth year ends with 1 or 6, Tuesday for 2 or 7, Wednesday for 3 or 8, Thursday for 4 or 9, and Friday for 5 or 0.

This COVID-19 Coexistence National Support Fund cannot be used at department stores, complex shopping malls, large supermarkets, or corporate supermarkets to support small business owners, self-employed individuals, and regional economic revitalization. Usable sectors include traditional markets, neighborhood marts, restaurants, hair salons, pharmacies, hospitals, optician shops, academies, and franchise stores. Non-usable sectors include department stores, large supermarkets, corporate supermarkets, duty-free shops, entertainment businesses, gambling industries, large electronics retail chain stores, and franchise directly operated stores.

Seoul City has actively consulted with card companies and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to expand the number of usage locations from 260,000 to 450,000 to alleviate citizen inconvenience regarding the National Support Fund usage. With this measure, approximately 190,000 small business card merchants not registered as temporary additional gift certificate merchants will be supported promptly through the Korea Easy Payment Promotion Agency upon request for Seoul Sarang Gift Certificate affiliation. The National Support Fund must be used by December 31, and any unused balance will not be refunded and will be fully reclaimed.

Kim Sang-han, Director of the Administration Bureau, said, "Due to the government's extension of social distancing to level 4, we ask citizens to apply for the National Support Fund online, which involves less face-to-face contact." He added, "When applying offline at banks or community service centers, please strictly follow the weekday system. We will continue to strive to provide benefits not only to citizens struggling with livelihoods due to COVID-19 but also to small business owners."