"Expansion of Paper Issuance During Suspension of Onnuri Gift Certificate App Service (Comprehensive)"

Sales of Onnuri Gift Certificates Surpass 1 Trillion KRW During Lunar New Year Holiday
Digital Gift Certificates Account for Nearly 82 Percent
Promoting Digital Gift Certificates Through Integrated App
Expanding Affiliated Stores and Alley-Type Shopping Districts

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups has decided to temporarily increase the stock of paper gift certificates in preparation for the suspension of existing services ahead of the launch of the integrated Onnuri Gift Certificate app next month.

On the 13th, Kim Seong-seop, Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, stated at the briefing on "2025 Lunar New Year Onnuri Gift Certificate Sales Status and Future Policy Directions" held at the Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, "Online sales will be suspended from the 15th, but during this period, the stock of paper gift certificates will be maintained at about 2 to 3 times the usual amount."

Kim Seong-seop, Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, is speaking at the briefing on "2025 Lunar New Year Onnuri Gift Certificate Sales Status and Future Policy Directions" held at the Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul on the 13th. Photo by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups

The Ministry plans to launch the integrated digital Onnuri Gift Certificate app on the 1st of next month to promote the use of digital Onnuri Gift Certificates. The app will introduce an automatic recharge function when the gift certificate balance is insufficient and a 24-hour chatbot consultation service. The number of cards that can be registered as card-type gift certificates will be expanded from the existing eight to nine, with Woori Card added. However, to prepare for the launch, all functions of the existing card-type and mobile Onnuri Gift Certificate apps will be suspended from the 15th to the 28th.

During last Lunar New Year’s holiday, the total sales of Onnuri Gift Certificates amounted to 1.0267 trillion KRW, with digital gift certificate sales accounting for 82% of total sales, or 839.3 billion KRW. This represents an increase of 727.7 billion KRW compared to the same period last year. Vice Minister Kim said, "It is encouraging that demand for digital gift certificates surged during the Lunar New Year holiday," adding, "Since there were issues related to illegal distribution of paper gift certificates, some demand seems to have shifted to digital gift certificates."

He continued, "Once the new app is activated, we plan to assist elderly users in easily downloading and using the app through 77 regional centers of the Small Enterprise and Market Service and local merchant associations."

The Ministry also plans to increase the number of affiliated stores where Onnuri Gift Certificates can be used. The number of alley-type shopping districts, which was 377 last year, is expected to increase to 600 this year. When registering new affiliated stores, improvements will be made to accept paper gift certificates, mobile gift certificates, and card-type gift certificates as payment methods, thereby expanding the number of stores where digital gift certificates can be used.

Vice Minister Kim said, "Unlike local currencies, Onnuri Gift Certificates are designated for use under the Traditional Market Promotion Act, so the number of affiliated stores cannot be significantly increased directly," adding, "We relaxed many industry restrictions last September and plan to encourage more affiliated store registrations within alley-type shopping districts."