Did You Buy a Lotto Ticket in Namdong-gu, Incheon Last November?... Hurry to Claim the 3 Billion Won Prize

Lotto First Prize Winner Leaves 3 Billion Won Unclaimed
Deadline Is November 10... Less Than Two Months Left

The winner of the 3 billion won Lotto first prize has less than two months left before the claim deadline, but it has been reported that the prize has not yet been collected.

According to Donghaeng Lottery, the lottery operator, as of September 22, one of the first prize winners from the 1,145th Lotto draw held on November 9 last year has not claimed the 3,051,630,000 won prize.

A newsstand in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Heo Younghan

The winning numbers for the 1,145th Lotto draw were 2, 11, 31, 33, 37, and 44, with the bonus number being 32. At that time, there were nine lucky winners who matched all six winning numbers. Of these, five purchased their tickets automatically, while three won by selecting their numbers manually, and one won using a semi-automatic method.

Among them, one person who bought a ticket automatically at the "Hana Lottery" retailer on Guwol-ro in Namdong-gu, Incheon, has not collected the prize. The deadline for claiming the prize is November 10. In the same draw, there is also one second prize winner who has not claimed their 72,650,000 won prize; this ticket was purchased in North Gyeongsang Province.

Donghaeng Lottery posts information on its website about unclaimed first and second prize winnings that are within two months of expiration. First prize Lotto winnings must be claimed within one year from the payout start date. According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, over the past five years (2020-2024), unclaimed Lotto winnings have amounted to 228,331,000,000 won, with 30,760,000 cases. Of these, unclaimed fifth prize winnings (5,000 won per prize) accounted for the largest portion, totaling 150,700,000,000 won (66%). After the claim period has expired, all unclaimed winnings are transferred to the Lottery Fund in accordance with the Lottery and Lottery Fund Act, and are used for various public interest projects such as housing support for low-income households, scholarship programs, and cultural heritage preservation.