[2025 National Assembly Audit] "Public Funds Wasted Yet Ignored"... 'Onnuri Gift Certificate Scam' Under Fire

Comprehensive Audit of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups
Jang Cheolmin: "Onnuri Gift Certificate Scam Still Widespread"

There has been criticism that the relevant authorities failed to properly investigate those who illicitly distributed Onnuri gift certificates last year and collected tens of billions of won in commissions. Despite the so-called "Onnuri Gift Certificate Scam" being a major controversy during last year's National Assembly audit, agencies such as the Small Enterprise and Market Service were criticized for neglecting their oversight responsibilities.

Sung-Hyo Park, Chairman of the Small Enterprise and Market Service, is reporting on business operations at the National Assembly Industry, Trade, Energy, Small and Medium Enterprises and Startups Committee held on October 23, 2025, in Yeouido, Seoul, regarding the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency and the Small Enterprise and Market Service. Photo by Hyunmin Kim

On October 23, Assemblyman Jang Cheolmin of the Democratic Party of Korea pointed out during the comprehensive audit of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups by the National Assembly Industry, Trade, Energy, Small and Medium Business Committee held in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, "Last year, companies in Daegu's traditional markets that illicitly distributed online gift certificates and collected tens of billions of won in commissions were at the center of controversy during the National Assembly audit, but upon reviewing the follow-up, only one garlic shop owner was indicted, and no action was taken against the others." He added, "In particular, a Saemaeul Geumgo credit union in Daegu, which exchanged hundreds of billions of won worth of Onnuri gift certificates for cash for this garlic shop owner and collected transaction fees, was not even investigated by the police."

Assemblyman Jang further stated, "When I asked the police why no action was taken, they replied, 'The Small Enterprise and Market Service did not file a complaint or provide any opinion, so we left it as is.' The amount collected by this garlic shop alone as exchange fees exceeds 2 billion won, yet nothing was done despite public funds being wasted," he criticized.

The issue of widespread illicit distribution of Onnuri gift certificates at certain electronics stores and other outlets also came under scrutiny.

Assemblyman Jang said, "Last year, I found it odd that the amount of Onnuri gift certificate payments was particularly high in Daegu rather than Seoul, and this year again, Daegu stands out overwhelmingly. Upon investigation, I easily found posts in various online communities encouraging non-face-to-face transactions for Onnuri gift certificates, such as 'You can do it by giving your card number over the phone.' Despite last year's major incident, nothing has changed over the past year," he emphasized. Park Sung-hyo, Chairman of the Small Enterprise and Market Service, admitted, "I acknowledge there was a lack of proficiency in our work."

During last year's National Assembly audit, Assemblyman Jang raised suspicions of the "Onnuri Gift Certificate Scam" by revealing that three companies at a traditional market in Daegu exchanged an average of 19.2 billion won in Onnuri gift certificates for cash every month. One of the three companies was a local shop, while the other two were paper companies with no real operations. At the time, former Minister of SMEs and Startups Oh Youngjoo announced, "We will conduct a full investigation into the 15 companies with monthly sales exceeding 500 million won."