Sejong-si Intensifies Crackdown on Illegal Distribution of 'Yeominjeon'... Responses Include Fines and Investigation Requests

[Asia Economy (Sejong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Sejong City announced on the 27th that it will conduct a comprehensive crackdown on the illegal distribution of the local currency Yeominjeon from the 31st of this month to the 18th of next month.

The crackdown is being carried out as part of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s ‘Comprehensive Crackdown Plan on Illegal Distribution of Local Love Gift Certificates.’

Earlier, in the first half of the year, the city focused on cracking down on business establishments where local currency sales occurred without registering as Yeominjeon affiliated stores (unregistered affiliated stores).

In the second half of this year, the focus will be on cracking down on acts such as receiving gift certificates for transactions exceeding actual sales amounts, operating businesses in restricted categories as affiliated stores, refusing gift certificate payments, or treating gift certificate holders unfairly.

The city plans to conduct the crackdown by extracting suspicious transaction data through the operating agency (KT), operating a resident report reception center, and inspecting sites based on information secured in advance.

Business establishments found to be involved in illegal distribution during inspections will face administrative measures such as cancellation of affiliated store registration and a ban on entering as an affiliated store for a certain period, or a fine of up to 20 million KRW according to the ‘Local Love Gift Certificate Act.’

In particular, the city is determined to respond firmly by requesting investigations from law enforcement agencies for cases judged to be serious violations.

However, unregistered affiliated stores that were previously restricted are excluded from this crackdown as the grace period for the ‘Act on the Promotion of Use of Local Love Gift Certificates’ ended on July 1.

A city official said, “Yeominjeon is a project that has high satisfaction among small business owners and consumers and helps revitalize the local economy, so we will establish a sound distribution order through the crackdown on illegal distribution.”

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