Daejeon Local Currency 'OntongDaejeon' Trademark Registered... Continued Popularity Expected in Second Half

Image of Daejeon local currency Ontong Daejeon card. Provided by Daejeon City

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The local currency of Daejeon, ‘Ontong Daejeon,’ has been registered as a trademark. Through trademark registration, the Daejeon city government aims to establish Ontong Daejeon as a regional win-win economic platform brand and draw a blueprint to continue its popularity in the second half of the year.

According to the city on the 16th, Ontong Daejeon recently completed the trademark registration process after examination and announcement by the Korean Intellectual Property Office. The trademark registration was carried out to secure intellectual property rights, establish a foundation for promotional marketing through stable use of the trademark, and prevent brand image damage caused by unauthorized use.

Through trademark registration, Ontong Daejeon has obtained exclusive and exclusive rights to 38 designated goods, including service marks and local currency issuance businesses. Other local governments, corporations, and private organizations besides the trademark owner, Daejeon city, will no longer be able to use trademarks similar to Ontong Daejeon.

The city will own the rights related to the Ontong Daejeon trademark for the next 10 years and can maintain the trademark rights through renewal after 10 years. Also, if a third party uses the same or similar trademark as Ontong Daejeon without permission, legal protection will be provided.

Ontong Daejeon is a name created by combining ‘On,’ meaning all or whole, ‘Tong (通),’ meaning communication and circulation, and ‘Daejeon (大錢),’ meaning a large amount of money, implying that it is a local currency circulated among all Daejeon citizens. Ontong Daejeon was also a name decided through a public contest among citizens.

As the citizens named it, Ontong Daejeon has become a representative brand of the livelihood economy, with 7 out of 10 Daejeon citizens aged 14 and older currently holding and using it.

For example, the issuance amount of Ontong Daejeon from January to July totaled 1.0324 trillion won, exceeding 50% of the initial plan, and it is gaining popularity with about 1,000 new sign-ups daily.

Trademark registration image of Ontong Daejeon. Provided by Daejeon City

In particular, during the Ontong Sale period in May, a record of 200 billion won was issued over two weeks. Based on this, the city forecasts that the issuance amount of Ontong Daejeon will reach around 2 trillion won by the end of this year.

In this regard, the city plans to secure national and city funds to ensure stable issuance of Ontong Daejeon until the end of the year, procure necessary funds for additional demand, and manage supply and demand.

Also, reflecting the increase in non-face-to-face consumption due to COVID-19 and other factors, the city plans to continue Ontong Daejeon’s popularity by activating the Ontong Daejeon Mall, delivery platforms, and holding the Ontong Sale in the second half of the year.

Ko Hyun-deok, Director of the City’s Job and Economy Bureau, said, “Ontong Daejeon is currently becoming an essential daily necessity for all Daejeon citizens beyond just a simple local currency function,” adding, “With the trademark registration of Ontong Daejeon, the credibility and trust of the local currency are expected to increase further.”

He added, “The city will continue to discover policy-linked projects using the platform so that Ontong Daejeon can bring a synergistic effect to the win-win economy of citizens and small business owners.”

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