Yeosu City Takes Strong Action Against Fraudulent Distribution of Yeosu Love Gift Certificates

Operation of Gift Certificate Fraud Reporting Center, Mobile Inspection Team, and Fraud Reporting Reward System

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Hyung-kwon] Yeosu City (Mayor Kwon Oh-bong) announced on the 15th that it has taken strong measures against the illegal distribution of Yeosu Love Gift Certificates.

This is to prevent the meaning from being diminished by illegal distribution in a situation where various emergency disaster relief funds are being provided in the form of gift certificates to revitalize the local economy, which has been stagnant due to the impact of COVID-19.

The city plans to strongly respond to acts such as cashing out gift certificates through personal transactions without using them for their intended purpose, merchants refusing payments with emergency disaster relief funds, or demanding additional fees and other unfavorable treatment.

Yeosu City operates a permanent reporting center for illegal distribution of gift certificates to prevent such activities. A mobile inspection team is activated to conduct surprise inspections, including sales verification of merchants with reported or suspicious activities and those with a significant increase in gift certificate redemption amounts. A reward system for whistleblowers reporting illegal distribution will also be implemented.

For businesses involved in illegal distribution, the city will strongly enforce measures such as canceling gift certificate merchant registrations, recovering fees and discount support funds, requesting tax investigations from the National Tax Service, and filing criminal charges. Additionally, starting from July, fines of up to 20 million KRW will be imposed according to related laws.

The city is also making every effort to prevent illegal distribution by sending compliance cooperation letters to merchants and merchant associations and producing and distributing informational materials.

Efforts to secure merchants to promote the use of Yeosu Love Gift Certificates continue, increasing the number of merchants from about 3,000 before the COVID-19 crisis to approximately 5,000 currently.

A city official stated, “We will do our best to prevent illegal distribution so that Yeosu Love Gift Certificates can provide practical help in revitalizing the local economy facing difficulties. We ask for the active cooperation of citizens and small business owners for the proper circulation of gift certificates and regional coexistence.”

Meanwhile, merchant registration for gift certificates can be applied for at the City Hall’s Regional Economy Division, township offices, or neighborhood community centers. Applicants must bring a copy of their business registration certificate, a copy of their bankbook, the representative’s ID, and a seal.

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