Seoul City Issues 25 Billion Won of 'Gwangyeok Seoul Love Gift Certificates' with 7% Discount

Purchase via Seoul Pay Plus App and Others

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 26th that it will issue the ‘Metropolitan Seoul Love Gift Certificate,’ which can be used in all 25 autonomous districts, at a 7% discounted price starting from 10 a.m. on the 30th. The total issuance amount is 25 billion KRW.

Unlike gift certificates issued by each autonomous district and usable only within that district, the ‘Metropolitan Seoul Love Gift Certificate’ can be used in all autonomous districts.

Purchasing the gift certificates is possible up to 500,000 KRW per person per month through five apps, including Seoul Pay Plus (SeoulPay+), Shinhan SOL, T-money Pay, Money Tree, and Shinhan pLay. The holding limit is 1 million KRW per person.

The city has divided the purchase times based on birth year (the second digit of the resident registration number) to prevent simultaneous access congestion: ‘odd’ numbers can purchase from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and ‘even’ numbers from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. The issuance amount is 12.5 billion KRW each for the morning and afternoon sessions, totaling 25 billion KRW.

The metropolitan gift certificates can be used within five years from the purchase date, and if more than 60% of the certificate amount is used, the remaining balance can be refunded. Gifting is freely allowed within the holding limit.

On the issuance day, the 30th, to ensure stable system operation, Seoul Pay Plus’s ‘Find Merchant’ service will be temporarily suspended for two hours from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., starting 30 minutes before issuance. The ‘Gift Certificate Gifting’ service will also be temporarily suspended from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the issuance day.

Meanwhile, the city is also operating a service that allows users to directly transfer (integrate) gift certificate balances from 24 Seoul Love Gift Certificate payment apps used until last year, such as Beeple Zero Pay and Check Pay, to five apps including Seoul Pay Plus. The applicable certificates include autonomous district-issued Seoul Love Gift Certificates, autonomous district special recovery gift certificates, and delivery-only Himkok gift certificates.

Park Jae-yong, Seoul City’s Labor, Fairness, and Coexistence Policy Officer, said, “The Metropolitan Seoul Love Gift Certificate can be purchased at a 7% discount and used conveniently anywhere throughout Seoul,” adding, “We hope it will help revitalize local neighborhoods and commercial districts, which have been stagnant due to high inflation and high interest rates, and reduce the burden of grocery prices for citizens.”