"Onnuri Gift Certificate Affiliation Rate at 483%?"... Spending 4 Trillion Won Based on 'Faulty Statistics'

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"Next Year's 4 Trillion Won Project Based on Faulty Data"

Cheongnyangni General Market, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul / Photo by Jang Jin-hyeong aymsdream@

The Onnuri Gift Certificates, which the government plans to issue worth 4 trillion won next year, have been revealed to be in a management blind spot due to legal and institutional shortcomings. In the case of Sinjeong Market in Nam-gu, Ulsan, there are 82 stores, but the number of Onnuri Gift Certificate affiliated stores is 396, resulting in a 'nonsense statistic' with an affiliation rate exceeding 480%. This phenomenon occurred because closed affiliated stores and others were not removed and remained as they were. There are 380 markets nationwide where the affiliation rate exceeds 100% like this.

According to data received by Shin Young-dae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, from the Small Enterprise and Market Service, the Onnuri Gift Certificate affiliation rate of Sinjeong Market in Nam-gu, Ulsan, was 482.9%, the highest in the country. Jungang Market in Suncheon, Jeollanam-do, had 458.8%, and Osu Market in Imsil-gun, Jeollabuk-do, had 442.9%, showing statistics where the number of affiliated stores was more than four times the number of stores. Among the 1,401 markets registered with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups nationwide, 380 markets had more Onnuri Gift Certificate affiliated stores than the number of stores.

This is because there is insufficient legal basis to cancel affiliation if an affiliated store closes or moves its business location and the store owner does not report the cancellation. Under the current Special Act on the Promotion of Traditional Markets and Shopping Districts (Traditional Market Act), to cancel an affiliation, an on-site investigation and hearing by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups are required, but in reality, the effectiveness of the system operation is criticized as low.

Despite this reality, the government plans to expand the issuance scale of Onnuri Gift Certificates to 4 trillion won next year. The budget was increased by 500 billion won from 3.5 trillion won this year to revitalize traditional markets and improve merchants' income. The types are also diversifying, including paper certificates, card-type, and mobile gift certificates. Representative Shin said, "The government is trying to push a massive 4 trillion won project based on faulty data," and emphasized, "A system must be established to ensure practical management of affiliated stores through cancellation measures such as closure and business registration cancellation."

To accurately grasp the number of Onnuri Gift Certificate affiliated stores and promote the project, the law must be changed. Recently, Representative Shin proposed a revision to the Traditional Market Act that allows the Ministry of SMEs and Startups to cancel the registration of affiliated stores if they have moved or closed.

The revision bill submitted by Yang Geum-hee of the ruling People Power Party sets the validity period of affiliated store registration to three years and establishes legal grounds to cancel registration when there is clear reason that the affiliated store status cannot be maintained.