Onnuri Gift Certificates, 10% Discount for Lunar New Year... Purchase Limit Up to 1 Million Won

[Asia Economy Reporter Junhyung Lee] In celebration of the Lunar New Year holiday, Onnuri gift certificates, which can be used at traditional markets, will be available for purchase at a 10% discount, up to 1 million KRW.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 31st that from the 1st to the 28th of next month, a special sale of Onnuri gift certificates will be held to revitalize traditional markets.

With this special sale, the discount rate for paper Onnuri gift certificates will increase from the existing 5% to 10%, and the monthly purchase limit will rise from 500,000 KRW to 1 million KRW. Since 40% of the amount spent at traditional markets can be deducted from income tax, purchasing and using Onnuri gift certificates during this discount period allows consumers to buy holiday gifts at a maximum cost of 50% (10% discount on the gift certificate + 40% income deduction).

Paper Onnuri gift certificates can be purchased at 16 commercial banks including Hana Bank and Shinhan Bank, and to receive the discount benefit, buyers must present an ID and pay in cash.

A mobile Onnuri gift certificate event will also be held simultaneously. The mobile Onnuri gift certificate, launched in 2019, will have a 10% discount rate and a monthly purchase limit of 1 million KRW applied until December this year to promote sales. Additionally, during the Lunar New Year holiday period, customers who spend 100,000 KRW online or 500,000 KRW or more both online and offline using the mobile Onnuri gift certificate will be entered into a draw to receive mobile gift certificates worth 30,000 KRW and 50,000 KRW respectively.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups plans to thoroughly crack down on fraudulent distribution of gift certificates during the special sale period by utilizing the 'Onnuri Gift Certificate Fraud Monitoring System' introduced in October last year. Merchants and merchant associations caught engaging in fraudulent distribution of Onnuri gift certificates will face administrative penalties such as fines up to 20 million KRW and cancellation of gift certificate merchant registration under the 'Special Act on the Promotion of Traditional Markets and Shopping Districts.' Furthermore, if a merchant association is involved in fraudulent distribution, additional disadvantages such as restrictions on participation in traditional market support projects will be imposed.

Lee Sangcheon, Director of Traditional Market Promotion at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, stated, "Since this special sale is being held to revitalize traditional markets struggling due to COVID-19, we hope the original purpose will not be lost." He added, "We ask merchants and merchant associations to actively work to prevent fraudulent distribution."

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