5% Discount... Reducing Cart Burden and Increasing Sales for Small Businesses
2-5% Payback on Payment Amount... Up to 10% Discount Possible
Seoul City announced on the 8th that it will sell 'Seoul Love Gift Certificates' worth 294 billion KRW at a 5% discount to revitalize the local economy for the Lunar New Year. The local gift certificates will be issued by each autonomous district from the 14th to the 16th for three days.
The gift certificates issued this time can only be used at affiliated stores within each autonomous district. For example, the 'Jongno Love Gift Certificate' can only be used at affiliated stores in Jongno-gu. Additionally, eight autonomous districts (Seongdong, Gangseo, Seongbuk, Dobong, Guro, Dongjak, Gwanak, Gangnam) will hold a payback event that refunds 2-5% of the payment amount in gift certificates when paying with local gift certificates. Considering that the local gift certificates can be purchased at a 5% discount, this means a maximum discount benefit of 10% can be received.
By district, Seongdong-gu and Gangseo-gu refund 2% of the payment amount, while Seongbuk, Dobong, Guro, Dongjak, Gwanak, and Gangnam-gu refund 5% in gift certificates. The payback applies from payments made in January, and 2-5% of the gift certificate payment amount will be refunded as gift certificates the month after the payment date. The payback event will continue until each district's budget is exhausted.
Seoul City plans to issue the gift certificates in three batches from the 14th to disperse simultaneous buyers as much as possible for smooth purchases. Starting with Seongbuk and Gwanak-gu, gift certificates for seven autonomous districts can be purchased on the 14th, those for seven districts including Seongdong and Gangseo on the 15th, and those for nine districts including Yongsan and Gangdong on the 16th.
On the 25th, six days before Chuseok, a notice indicating the acceptance of Seoul Love Gift Certificates and disaster relief funds was installed at a store inside Yeongcheon Market in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. Photo by Mun Honam munonam@
The Seoul Love Gift Certificates can be purchased at a 5% discount on 'Seoul Pay Plus (Seoulpay+)' up to 500,000 KRW per person per month, with a holding limit of 1.5 million KRW per person. If the gift certificates are not used after purchase, they can be fully canceled, and for cash purchases (account transfers), refunds of the remaining balance are possible only if more than 60% of the held amount has been used. If the gift certificates were purchased with a credit card, refunds of the balance and gifting are not allowed.
Song Ho-jae, Director of the Seoul City Livelihood and Labor Bureau, said, "We issued the Seoul Love Gift Certificates to provide some help to small business owners and citizens struggling with ongoing high inflation and domestic demand stagnation during the Lunar New Year." He added, "We hope this issuance will ease citizens' grocery price burdens and contribute to increasing small business sales and revitalizing the local economy."
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