"Won the Lottery but Didn't Know"… Unclaimed Prize Money Exceeds 50 Billion Won

A lottery ticket store in Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] It has been revealed that unclaimed lottery winnings exceeded 50 billion KRW last year alone.

According to data submitted by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance's Lottery Commission to Yang Kyung-sook, a member of the National Assembly's Planning and Finance Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, unclaimed lottery winnings from online lotteries (Lotto), pension lotteries, and others amounted to 51.574 billion KRW last year.

Looking at the status over the past five years, unclaimed winnings increased from 47.427 billion KRW in 2017 to 50.139 billion KRW in 2018, 53.763 billion KRW in 2019, and 59.231 billion KRW in 2020, before slightly decreasing last year.

For draw-type lotteries such as Lotto, winnings must be claimed within one year from the start of payment, and for instant lotteries, within one year from the end of the sales period; otherwise, the winnings expire.

Unclaimed winnings that reach the expiration period return to the lottery fund and are used for public interest projects.

In the case of last year, the lottery fund was allocated as resources for the Housing and Urban Fund, Veterans Fund, Culture and Arts Promotion Fund, Gender Equality Fund, Youth Development Fund, and was also used to support families of adopted children, child welfare facility rehabilitation, and scholarship programs for low-income groups.

Representative Yang pointed out, "Institutional improvements seem necessary to reduce the number of unclaimed winners who do not benefit despite winning the lottery."

She also emphasized, "The government should manage the lottery fund, which is raised through lottery projects and used for various public interest projects, transparently and efficiently."

Meanwhile, some argue that the payment expiration period for winnings should be extended as the amount of unclaimed money increases.

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