"No to 'Currency Kkang' and Gambling Businesses! ... Busan City Conducts Comprehensive Crackdown on Illegal Distribution of Local Gift Certificate 'Dongbaekjeon'"

November 7-25 Dongbaekjeon Franchisees Targeted

Up to 20 Million KRW Fine for Illegal Activities

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Crackdowns will be conducted on illegal distribution activities of Busan local currency, such as use in gambling industries or so-called 'currency laundering.' However, the originally planned implementation will be somewhat delayed due to the Itaewon incident.

Busan City announced on the 31st that, together with the Dongbaekjeon operation agency Busan Bank consortium, it will carry out a 19-day intensive crackdown on illegal distribution of Busan local currency from November 7 to November 25 to establish a sound order for the circulation of local love gift certificates.

This crackdown on illegal distribution of local currency is the fourth since it began in the first half of 2021. The plan is to expand enforcement methods, including pre-education, on-site inspections, and telephone and written confirmations, to strengthen crackdowns targeting all affiliated stores.

The crackdown will proceed by extracting suspicious transaction data through the operation agency, conducting preliminary analysis based on resident reports received via the reporting center and call center, and then having a crackdown team organized by the city visit the target affiliated stores on-site to verify illegal distribution.

The main types of targets for the crackdown include ▲ affiliated stores operating in restricted industries such as gambling, ▲ receiving local currency without providing goods or services, ▲ accepting gift certificates exceeding the actual transaction amount, ▲ exchanging fraudulently obtained gift certificates, and ▲ refusing local currency payments or demanding additional charges.

Illegal sales and exchange activities revealed during the crackdown will be subject to fines up to 20 million KRW, and refusal or obstruction of investigations into violations will incur fines up to 5 million KRW.

A Busan City official stated, “Dongbaekjeon is a mobile-type gift certificate, so the possibility of illegal distribution is low, but since Dongbaekjeon has become part of citizens' daily lives, we will strengthen and carry out intensive crackdowns to eradicate illegal distribution.”

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