Seoul Extends 'Disaster Emergency Living Expenses' Usage from June to End of August... Full Recovery for Illegal Transactions

1.8 Million Households Applied in Seoul, 1.28 Million Expected to Receive Support
Repeated Card Fraud Cases Will Be Referred to Police Investigation and Prosecution

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The Seoul Metropolitan Government has decided to extend the usage period of the Seoul Love Gift Certificates and prepaid cards provided as 'Disaster Emergency Living Expenses' from the original end of June to the end of August. This extension of two months was made based on the judgment that citizens practically do not have much time to use the disaster emergency living expenses.

Seoul City announced on the 28th that since the payment system will automatically extend the deadline for the disaster emergency living expenses by two months, citizens who have already received the Seoul Love Gift Certificates or prepaid cards can use them until the end of August without any separate change procedures.

Along with this, the city stated that if illegal transactions of disaster relief funds, so-called 'card kkang', which have recently become an issue, are detected, the initial response will be payment suspension and recovery measures. If repetitive and organized acts are found, the city will respond strictly by requesting police investigation or filing charges and recovering the full amount.

Illegal transactions of Seoul Love Gift Certificates and prepaid cards violate Article 6 of the 'Electronic Financial Transactions Act' and may be punished by imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to 20 million KRW. The 'Ordinance on the Issuance and Operation of Seoul Love Gift Certificates by Seoul City' also prohibits resale or exchange.

To this end, the city plans to request the deletion of related transaction posts on major secondhand trading sites such as 'Junggonara' and 'Danggeun Market', and will secure evidence through continuous monitoring and mystery shopper methods.

Meanwhile, in Seoul, since the emergency living expense application started on the 30th of last month, a total of 1.44 million households have applied over four weeks. Among them, 860,000 applications were online, 10,000 were through visiting application, and 570,000 were on-site applications. Since on-site applications began on the 16th, more than 70,000 citizens have visited daily on average.

The city has completed the payment of disaster emergency living expenses totaling 121.9 billion KRW to 340,000 households, with 140,000 cases (40%) applying for Seoul Love Gift Certificates and 200,000 cases (60%) for prepaid cards, showing a somewhat higher proportion of prepaid card payments.

Considering the remaining application period of about three weeks, the city expects that a total of 1.8 million households in Seoul will apply for emergency living expenses, and about 1.28 million households, or 76%, will receive support. Applications are accepted until the 15th of next month, and on-site applications at community service centers will continue alongside existing online and visiting applications.

Kang Byung-ho, Director of Welfare Policy at Seoul City, said, "We are extending the usage period to the end of August so that citizens can use the disaster emergency living expenses more comfortably. Seoul City will continuously monitor illegal transactions related to disaster emergency living expenses and respond strictly with immediate detection and legal action."

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