Seoul City Expands Child Meal Card Usage to 130,000 Restaurants

From 7,000 Locations to 130,000 Locations... Usage Starts from the 30th at All Places Except Non-Compliant Establishments Like Bars

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul City will expand the use of the ‘Kkum Namu Card,’ which provides balanced meals to 18,000 children at risk of food insecurity in Seoul, to all 130,000 restaurants across the city starting from the 30th.

On the 26th, Seoul City announced that it will expand the number of affiliated stores where the ‘Kkum Namu Card’ can be used from 7,000, which accounted for only about 5% of all general restaurants in Seoul, to over 130,000 locations. Since 1998, Seoul has been running a meal support program for children at risk of food insecurity due to difficult economic circumstances. The ‘Kkum Namu Card,’ a child meal card, was introduced in 2009 to enable these children to dine at affiliated restaurants.

To expand affiliated stores, Seoul City completely revamped the designation method through consultations with Shinhan Card, the Kkum Namu Card partner company, and local districts. Whereas previously restaurants had to apply for affiliation, now payments can be made at any Shinhan Card affiliated store located in Seoul.

Until now, the limited choice of affiliated stores caused children’s usage to be concentrated in convenience stores and bakeries, raising ongoing concerns about nutritional imbalance. Additionally, as COVID-19 has prolonged school closures and halted school meals, the nutritional gap among low-income children has further widened.

Along with expanding affiliated stores, Seoul City will launch the ‘Seoul Kkum Namu Card’ app on the 30th to enhance convenience for card users. Through the app, users can intuitively view the distribution of affiliated stores on a map and check their remaining balance.

Previously, in September 2019, Seoul City completely revamped the card system to alleviate the stigma experienced by children using the Kkum Namu Card. The card was replaced with a general IC card design so that business owners could process payments just like regular check cards without needing to learn a separate payment method.

Meanwhile, Seoul City is considering raising the meal support unit price for children at risk of food insecurity (currently 6,000 KRW per meal) to reflect reality. Since the current support rate limits the number of usable restaurants, the plan is to provide a realistic meal support rate to offer children high-quality meals.

Song Jun-seo, Seoul City’s Family Officer, said, “With the expansion of Kkum Namu Card affiliated stores to virtually all restaurants in Seoul, we expect children at risk of food insecurity to have access to more diverse and nutritious meals near their residences. We will continue to spare no effort in supporting the healthy growth of children at risk of food insecurity in Seoul.”

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