Lee Jae-myung "Disaster Relief Income to Be Paid from the 9th via Local Currency and Credit/Prepaid Cards"

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province will start providing the 'Disaster Basic Income' via credit cards and prepaid cards in addition to local currency from the 9th of this month.

On the 1st, Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung held a press conference and announced the payment methods and usage guidelines for the 'Gyeonggi Province-type Disaster Basic Income,' including this information.

First, the recipients are all Gyeonggi residents who have their resident registration in Gyeonggi Province as of 24:00 on March 23 of this year and at the time of application.

However, newborns are exceptionally eligible even if they were fetuses on the reference date, provided that their mother was a Gyeonggi resident on the reference date and they were born after that date but before the application date.

Applications are accepted from the 9th of this month until July 31. The local currency and credit card types are available until the 30th of this month. The usage period is within three months from the application date and must be used by August 31 of this year. Any unused amount after this period will be automatically forfeited.

The places where it can be used are businesses within the city or county of the resident registration address that accept local currency. Only businesses with annual sales of 1 billion KRW or less are eligible; large department stores, large marts, corporate supermarkets, entertainment businesses, gambling establishments, and franchise directly managed stores are excluded.

The payment methods include three types: the existing card-type local currency, credit cards, and prepaid cards.

The diversification of payment methods was considered to address the production period of the existing card-type local currency, the speed of payment, and ease of use.

For those receiving via local currency or credit card, from the 9th to the 30th of this month, residents can verify their Gyeonggi residency on the 'Gyeonggi Province-type Disaster Basic Income Homepage' and enter their local currency card or credit card information.

In the case of local currency, 100,000 KRW will be charged within two days from the application date along with an approval completion message. For credit cards, after receiving the completion message, using the card at local currency affiliated stores will deduct the disaster basic income amount from the billing amount.

For prepaid cards, from the 20th of this month until July 31, applicants can receive prepaid cards at 544 Eup/Myeon/Dong administrative welfare centers and 1,042 designated NongHyup branches, and use the charged 100,000 KRW at local currency affiliated stores.

However, since prepaid cards are bearer securities, visiting, applying, and receiving procedures are required to obtain the physical card.

To minimize congestion, the prepaid card application dates are distributed according to the number of household members registered in the resident registration and the last digit of the birth year.

Accordingly, in the 1st week (April 20?26), households with four or more members can apply; in the 2nd week (April 27?May 3), three-member households; in the 3rd week (May 4?10), two-member households; and in the 4th week (May 11?July 31), single-person households and those who missed previous application periods can apply.

Additionally, similar to the mask day system, application dates are designated according to the last digit of the birth year. For example, on Monday of the 1st week, residents in households of four or more whose birth years end in 1 or 6 can apply; on Tuesday of the 2nd week, residents in three-member households whose birth years end in 2 or 7 can apply.

The usage period for both credit and prepaid card methods is three months from the date of application confirmation or usage approval message receipt, but prepaid cards can only be used until August 31.

The usage period restriction is intended to promote consumption within a short period to revive the local economy, which has been depressed due to COVID-19.

If the application procedure is not completed within the deadline, the amount will be automatically forfeited. If donation is desired, options to donate through organizations such as the Community Chest of Korea are being considered.

Governor Lee emphasized, "The fight against infectious diseases is a race against time. While doing well is important, doing it quickly is even more crucial at this time. The Gyeonggi Province Disaster Basic Income is an economic policy, not a welfare policy. By providing it as local currency with a limited usage period, funds flow into traditional markets and neighborhood businesses, increasing sales for small business owners and micro-entrepreneurs, serving as a catalyst to revive economic circulation."

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