Busan Extends Expanded Dongbaekjeon Cashback Benefits Until August... "All-Out Effort for Local Consumption"

The Busan Metropolitan Government will extend its policy to expand cashback benefits for the local currency, Dongbaekjeon, until August in order to stimulate local consumption and help small business owners recover their sales.

Since January this year, the city has been operating Dongbaekjeon with the goal of revitalizing domestic demand by raising the monthly cashback limit from 300,000 won to 500,000 won and increasing the cashback rate from 5% to up to 7%. As a result, from January to May, the total amount of Dongbaekjeon issued was approximately 681.3 billion won, and the amount used was 676.2 billion won, representing increases of 16.5% and 16.9%, respectively, compared to the same period last year.

Based on these results, the city has secured national funding through the government's first supplementary budget and will continue the expanded policy until August. The monthly cashback limit will remain at 500,000 won, and the cashback rate will be applied differentially according to merchant sales. Merchants with annual sales of 1 billion won or less will receive 7% cashback, those with sales between 1 billion and 3 billion won will receive 5%, and merchants with sales exceeding 3 billion won will be excluded from the cashback program.

This policy was initially implemented entirely with city funds to reduce the burden on local small business owners and strengthen practical support amid high inflation and high interest rates. The city plans to finalize the operational direction of Dongbaekjeon after September, taking into consideration the results of the government's second supplementary budget and the possibility of matching city funds.

Busan Mayor Park Heongjoon emphasized, "Dongbaekjeon is a policy that citizens can truly feel and has been a real help in revitalizing local commercial districts," adding, "I hope that this extension of the expanded cashback benefits will contribute to promoting local consumption and restoring the livelihoods of citizens."

Busan City Hall.