Naju Sarang Gift Certificates Achieve Record High Sales Amount

[Naju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yukbong] The sales of the local currency issued by Naju City, Jeollanam-do, called ‘Naju Sarang Gift Certificate,’ surpassed 70 billion won in the first half of the year, setting a new record high.

According to the city on the 28th, the sales amount of the gift certificates from January 1st to this day reached 70.4 billion won.

This figure is close to last year’s cumulative sales amount of 83.6 billion won in just half a year.

This explosive sales trend is analyzed to be naturally driven by the increased usage of the gift certificates, which offer a 10% discount on the face value, due to the extension of the 10% discount program period, making it beneficial to purchase.

Additionally, the issuance of the Naju Sarang Card, which complements the drawbacks of paper gift certificates and allows easy charging and payment through an app, continuous increase in affiliated stores, and promotional campaigns such as the gift certificate shopping movement have also added synergy to the rise in sales rates.

Earlier, the city cited the issuance and distribution of 20 billion won worth of gift certificates, including its own disaster relief fund providing 100,000 won per person to all citizens in March and the early lump-sum payment of public interest allowances for farmers and fishermen, as major factors in achieving the highest record.

The city decided to change the deadline for the 10% discount sale of gift certificates, originally scheduled for the end of this month, to until the budget is exhausted.

Although the budget burden increases as sales rise, the virtuous cycle effect on the local economy, such as increased sales in neighborhood markets due to prevention of capital outflow from the region, is greater.

Even if the budget is exhausted, the city plans to maintain the purchasing power of the gift certificates by continuously securing national funds and slightly lowering the discount rate.

The Naju Sarang Gift Certificate can be purchased up to 700,000 won per person per month at 54 designated financial institutions including NH Nonghyup Bank Naju Branch, local Nonghyup, Credit Unions, Saemaeul Geumgo, and Gwangju Bank.

The Naju Sarang Card also offers purchase and charging services at a 10% discounted rate through the dedicated app (CHAK).

Mayor Kang In-gyu said, “We will do our best to maintain the discount rate and transparent distribution management to activate the use of gift certificates that provide enjoyable benefits to both local businesses and consumers,” and added, “We thank the citizens who participated in kind consumption to overcome the livelihood economic crisis caused by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.”

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