Jeonbuk Province Takes Strong Action Against Fraudulent Distribution of Local Love Gift Certificates

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Jeonbuk Province announced on the 10th that it has taken strong measures against the fraudulent distribution of local love gift certificates.

Local love gift certificates are issued to prevent the outflow of regional funds and to increase income in local commercial districts, but this is to prevent their significance from being diminished due to fraudulent distribution (commonly known as ‘gift certificate scams’).

Currently, city and county offices operate a system that verifies identification and records serial numbers at the time of purchase and exchange, and traces the distribution route backward to detect fraud suspicions.

Cases such as exchanging excessively compared to the size of the business, exchanging up to the monthly limit of 10 million won, and frequently changing sales agencies are monitored by tracking the flow of gift certificate serial numbers from purchase to use and exchange.

For suspicious affiliated stores that may have processed exchanges through large purchases by family or acquaintances without actual product sales, on-site investigations are conducted by visiting directly to check gift certificate usage details and exchange circumstances. If fraudulent distribution is confirmed through on-site investigations, unjust profits are recovered and the store’s affiliation is canceled.

In the future, in addition to recovering unjust profits and canceling affiliations, the province plans to strongly pursue tax audits requested to the National Tax Service, criminal charges, and claims for damages related to discount compensation.

Along with intensive crackdowns, a reporting reward system will be actively promoted to prevent fraudulent distribution of gift certificates by continuously accepting reports of fraudulent activities and offering up to 1 million won as a reward to informants, aiming for preemptive prevention.

In particular, since fraudulent distribution is likely to occur during the special discount period for the Lunar New Year, text messages will be sent to all affiliated stores informing them that strict punishment will be enforced for fraudulent distribution.

The province plans to issue mobile or card gift certificates that can track purchase and payment details in all cities and counties within the year to fundamentally block fraudulent distribution.

Shin Won-sik, Director of Job and Economic Policy, said, “We will strive to eradicate fraudulent distribution so that local gift certificates can truly revitalize local commercial districts,” and added, “We hope that small business owners and residents will work together to activate the local commercial districts through normal distribution.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.