Day-of-the-Week Application System in First Week... 100,000 Won Payment
Targeting Bottom 90% Income Bracket, Excluding High-Asset Households
Eligibility Based on 1.2 Billion Won Property Tax Base and 20 Million Won Financial Income Criteria
The second round of Livelihood Recovery Consumption Coupons will begin distribution on September 22. High-asset households will be excluded first, and the coupons will be provided to households in the bottom 90% income bracket based on health insurance premiums.
On September 12, the government held a joint briefing at the Government Complex Seoul and announced the plan for the second round of consumption coupon distribution. The main point is an additional payment of 100,000 won to the bottom 90% income group. Applications can be submitted from 9:00 a.m. on September 22 until 9:00 p.m. on October 31, and recipients can choose to receive the coupons via credit/debit card, local gift certificates, or prepaid cards.
As with the first round, a day-of-the-week system will be applied during the first week of implementation. Applications are as follows: Mondays for those whose birth year ends in 1 or 6; Tuesdays for 2 or 7; Wednesdays for 3 or 8; Thursdays for 4 or 9; Fridays for 5 or 0. Applications are open to everyone on weekends.
Income Criteria Applied After Excluding High-Asset Households
Households deemed to be high-asset will be excluded first. If the total assessed property tax base in 2024 exceeds 1.2 billion won, or if the total financial income in 2024 exceeds 20 million won, all members of the household are excluded from eligibility. This includes single-homeowners with real estate worth approximately 2.67 billion won or more based on the official price, households with deposits of 1 billion won at an annual interest rate of 2%, or households investing 1 billion won with a 2% dividend yield.
The criteria for selecting the bottom 90% income group is the total household health insurance premium assessed in June 2024. For employee subscribers, households paying health insurance premiums of 220,000 won or less for a single-person household, 330,000 won or less for two persons, 420,000 won or less for three persons, and 510,000 won or less for four persons are eligible for the consumption coupon. The criteria differ for local subscribers and mixed households of local and employee subscribers.
Special criteria have been established to ensure that single-person households, which have a high proportion of young people and the elderly, as well as multi-income households with high combined incomes, are not excluded from eligibility. For single-person households, the annual income threshold is set at approximately 75 million won for employee subscribers.
For multi-income households with two or more income earners, the eligibility criteria are based on adding one more household member to the standard. For example, a four-person household with two employee subscribers will be subject to the five-person household standard (600,000 won), not the four-person standard (510,000 won). For local subscriber multi-income households, eligibility applies if there are two or more household members with annual comprehensive income and separately taxed financial income of 3 million won or more in 2024.
Compared to the first round, the scope of eligible merchants will be partially expanded in the second round. From the second round, military personnel will be able to use the consumption coupons at businesses near their duty stations. Although the principle is to apply for and use the consumption coupon at the address registered in the resident registration, military personnel will be able to apply at the community center near their duty station from the second round. Also, from the second round, local cooperatives will be included as eligible merchants even if their annual sales exceed 3 billion won. This measure considers the public interest role of local cooperatives and aims to promote consumption of eco-friendly agricultural products.
The government will notify potential recipients in advance through the National Secretary notification service. From 9:00 a.m. on September 22, individuals can also check their eligibility directly. Online inquiries can be made via the card company’s app or website, call center, ARS, or the National Health Insurance Service website/app. Eligibility can also be checked in person at bank branches affiliated with card companies or at local administrative welfare centers.
The usage period for both the first and second rounds of consumption coupons is until November 30, 2025, and any unused balance after this period will expire.
'Household' Criteria Based on Resident Registration and Health Insurance Premiums
The unit for selecting recipients in the second round, the 'household,' is based on resident registration and health insurance premiums. As of June 18, 2025, individuals listed together on the same household’s resident registration are considered a single household. Even if the address is different, a spouse or child who is a health insurance dependent is considered part of the same household. However, if the dependent is a parent with a different address, they are considered a separate household. For dual-income couples, they are generally considered separate households, but if the combined insurance premium is more advantageous, they may be recognized as a single household.
Accordingly, overseas Koreans are included if they are listed on the resident registration and have the same health insurance status as citizens. Foreigners are included if at least one Korean national is listed on the resident registration and they have the same health insurance status as citizens. Permanent residents (F-5), marriage immigrants (F-6), and recognized refugees (F-2-4) are eligible if they hold health insurance or receive medical benefits, regardless of resident registration status.
Vulnerable groups such as basic livelihood security recipients, the near-poor, and single-parent families-totaling about 3.14 million people-who were additionally eligible in the first round, will also be eligible in the second round. Persons with unknown residence are considered separate single-person households regardless of the resident registration, and if they meet the criteria, they are eligible for payment.
First Round Application Rate 98.7%..."Increase in Small Business Sales"
The first round of consumption coupon applications will close at 6:00 p.m. today. As of midnight the previous day, 50.05 million people, or 98.9% of eligible recipients, had completed their applications. This surpasses the application rate (98.7%) for the National Disaster Relief Fund in 2021. The total amount distributed is 9.0634 trillion won.
Kim Minjae, Vice Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, said at the briefing, "Since the first round of consumption coupon distribution, there has been a recovery in consumption and an increase in small business sales." The consumer sentiment index reached 110.8 in July, the highest since 2021, when the coupon distribution began, and rose to 111.4 in August. In addition, the Small Business Business Survey Index (BSI), which had been declining for three consecutive months, rebounded in August and recorded its highest level this year (88.3) in September.
Vice Minister Kim stated, "All relevant ministries will do their utmost to ensure that the momentum for domestic demand recovery, which was painstakingly revived through the first round of consumption coupons, continues through the second round."
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