Issuance of Songpa Sarang Gift Certificates Worth 10 Billion Won (20% Discount)

Up to 1 Million KRW per Person per Month · 15% Discount Purchase, 5% Cashback... Total 20% Discount Benefit... Usable at Over 9,000 ZeroPay Merchants in the Region

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Songpa-gu (Mayor Park Seong-su) announced that it has issued the ‘Songpa Love Gift Certificate’ worth 10 billion KRW starting April 1 to support the struggling local businesses due to the spread of COVID-19 and to revitalize the local economy.

The ‘Songpa Love Gift Certificate’ is a mobile gift certificate that can be paid using a QR code at Zero Pay affiliated stores within the district.

Originally, the district planned to issue the Songpa Love Gift Certificate in June this year, but it was advanced by two months to overcome the damage caused by COVID-19 and to stimulate local economic consumption.

Along with this, the district has also strengthened benefits such as discounts and refunds to promote the use of the Songpa Love Gift Certificate.

First, considering the economic damage caused by COVID-19, the monthly purchase limit per person for the Songpa Love Gift Certificate has been expanded from 500,000 KRW to 1,000,000 KRW until July this year.

Additionally, a temporary 15% discount rate on gift certificate purchases was applied. Afterwards, a regular 7% discount and a 10% discount during holidays will continue. Also, when purchasing goods with the gift certificate, 5% of the payment amount will be refunded in the form of cashback. This effectively provides a total discount benefit of 20%.

Furthermore, until June, the income deduction benefit for gift certificate usage will be expanded from the existing 30% to 60%. When using the gift certificate at traditional markets, income deduction can be received up to 80%. Small business owners and self-employed individuals will be exempt from fees on gift certificate payment transactions.

The Songpa Love Gift Certificate is issued in three denominations: 10,000 KRW, 50,000 KRW, and 100,000 KRW, and anyone can purchase and pay through a smartphone app. The dedicated smartphone apps for purchasing and payment are ▲Bizplay ▲CheckPay ▲MoneyTree, among others.

Payments are made in the same way as Zero Pay by scanning the QR code of a Zero Pay affiliated store through the app, entering the amount, or by presenting the QR code generated on the smartphone to the store, where the store’s reader scans the QR code.

The Songpa Love Gift Certificate can be used at about 9,000 Zero Pay affiliated stores in Songpa-gu, including academies, restaurants, pharmacies, convenience stores, and more. However, as the purpose is to revitalize the local economy and support small business owners and self-employed individuals, it cannot be used at large franchises such as E-mart, Lotte Mart, Daiso, or in luxury and entertainment industries.

For more detailed information, please refer to the announcements on the Songpa-gu website or contact the Songpa-gu Office’s Local Economy Division.

Mayor Park Seong-su of Songpa-gu said, “We expect the Songpa Love Gift Certificate to help alleviate the management difficulties of small business owners and self-employed individuals,” and added, “We will make every effort in various ways to help the local economy, which has shrunk due to COVID-19, recover as soon as possible.”

On the first day of issuing the Songpa Love Gift Certificate, Mayor Park visited a flower shop in Pungnap-dong in the morning of the 1st. As graduation and entrance ceremonies were recently canceled, causing a sharp decline in flower shop sales, he took action to help small business owners. On that day, Mayor Park made the first payment using the Songpa Love Gift Certificate by purchasing a bouquet.

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