'Up to 17% Cashback' Promoted Incheon e-eum Win-Win Franchise Stores Only 822 Locations

Only 0.77% of General Franchise Stores... Concentrated in 4 Districts Including Seogu
Incheon City Councilor Moon Sejong Points Out "Exaggerated Advertising, Lack of Incentives for Enrollment"

Incheon City has been criticized for promoting 'Win-Win Franchise Stores' that offer up to 17% Incheon e-eum cashback benefits, while in reality, such stores are extremely rare and concentrated in only a few areas.

According to Moon Se-jong, a member of the Industrial Economy Committee of the Incheon City Council (Minju Party, Gyeyang 4), as of last month, there were only 822 Incheon e-eum Win-Win Franchise Stores in the Incheon area that fully provide the 17% cashback. This accounts for only 0.77% of the 106,630 general Incheon e-eum franchise stores, making it practically impossible for ordinary citizens to receive the 17% cashback.

The Win-Win Franchise Stores, introduced by Incheon City as a measure to revitalize Incheon e-eum, require franchise owners to voluntarily provide an additional 1-5% cashback to consumers. In return, they can receive partial cashback support on transaction amounts when trading between businesses.

Incheon e-eum Card [Provided by Incheon City]

When the city began recruiting Win-Win Franchise Stores in June, it emphasized the 'up to 17% cashback.' This figure was promoted by combining the 10% cashback for general franchise stores with annual sales under 300 million KRW, the 2% Win-Win cashback provided by each district, and the additional 5% cashback paid by the Win-Win Franchise Stores themselves, suggesting that all Incheon e-eum users could receive a total of 17% cashback.

However, in reality, the Win-Win Franchise Stores offering 17% cashback are concentrated in Seo-gu (495 stores), Bupyeong-gu (201 stores), Yeonsu-gu (78 stores), and Gyeyang-gu (48 stores). This is because only these four districts provide the district-level Win-Win cashback. Consequently, citizens living in other districts that do not provide Win-Win cashback cannot receive the 17% cashback benefit.

Moreover, the number of Win-Win Franchise Stores providing additional cashback is not large. As of last month, 7,902 businesses had joined the Win-Win Franchise program, representing a participation rate of 7.41%. Without attractive incentives to encourage small business owners to join, achieving this year's target of 10,000 stores and next year's 15,000 stores is expected to be difficult.

Assemblyman Moon said, "Given that there are hardly any Win-Win Franchise Stores offering 17% cashback, the city’s policy has been exaggerated and over-advertised. Unless small business owners can tangibly feel the benefits of joining the Win-Win Franchise program, it will be difficult for the city to achieve its enrollment targets."