Yongsan-gu, Emergency Disaster Relief Fund Applications Open

Maximum 1 Million KRW per Household for All Residents (110,436 Households)... Choose One: Credit/Debit Card Recharge, Seoul Sarang Gift Certificate, or Prepaid Card

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Yongsan-gu (District Mayor Seongchang Hyun) will begin accepting online applications for the government’s emergency disaster relief fund starting from the 11th.

The recipients of the relief fund include all residents of the district (110,436 households), with the amount per household set regardless of income or property: 400,000 KRW for a single-person household, 600,000 KRW for two-person households, 800,000 KRW for three-person households, and 1,000,000 KRW for households of four or more. The total support scale reaches 64.5 billion KRW.

Eligibility checks can be done by the head of household on the emergency disaster relief fund website (www.긴급재난지원금.kr).

The payment methods are divided into ▲cash ▲credit/debit card recharge ▲Seoul Sarang Gift Certificates ▲prepaid cards.

Cash payments are limited to recipients of basic livelihood security, basic pension, and disability pension. The district completed support for these 8,981 households on the 4th. The amount paid was 4 billion KRW, accounting for 6.2% of the total project cost.

Credit/debit card recharge involves loading the relief fund onto an existing card. Applications can be made through the card company’s website from May 11 to 31. Offline applications start on the 18th. Applicants must visit the bank linked to their card with their ID.

The emergency disaster relief fund will be recharged onto the head of household’s card about two days after application. However, some cards such as City Card are excluded from recharge due to the absence of a cash-equivalent points system, so it is advisable to check carefully.

Seoul Sarang Gift Certificates will also accept online applications starting from the 11th. The Seoul Metropolitan Government is setting up the related website.

Prepaid card applications will be accepted offline starting May 18. The head of household must visit the local community service center with their ID. If a household member cannot go in person, a proxy with a power of attorney and ID can apply on their behalf. ‘Visiting application’ services will be provided for residents with mobility difficulties such as the disabled and elderly.

Applications for the relief fund will follow a ‘day-of-the-week’ system similar to the public mask distribution. If the last digit of the head of household’s birth year is 1 or 6, applications can be made on Monday; 2 or 7 on Tuesday; 3 or 8 on Wednesday; 4 or 9 on Thursday; and 5 or 0 on Friday. On Saturdays and Sundays, online applications are open to everyone except for in-person submissions.

There are restrictions on where and for what the relief funds can be used. They cannot be used at department stores, large supermarkets, corporate supermarkets (SSM), entertainment establishments, etc. Usage is limited to within Seoul city.

Additionally, if the relief funds are not used by August 31, they will automatically expire. Although the validity period for local gift certificates is five years, the district recommends and encourages using all funds by August to aid local economic recovery.

Applicants can express their intention to donate at the application stage or donate after receiving the funds through the Korea Workers’ Compensation & Welfare Service. If the relief fund is not applied for within three months from the start date, it will be considered a donation and processed as employment insurance fund revenue. Donations of the relief fund are eligible for tax deductions during year-end tax settlement or comprehensive income tax filing.

Seongchang Hyun, Mayor of Yongsan-gu, said, “Offline applications may take longer to process. We kindly ask that you apply online whenever possible.”

Contact: Autonomous Administration Division (☎2199-6374) or local community service centers

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