Seoul City Issues 100 Billion Won Scale 'Metropolitan Seoul Love Gift Certificate' with 7% Discount

Available for use regardless of district, issued from the 6th of next month
To prevent server overload, odd birth years can purchase from 10 AM, even birth years from 2 PM

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government will issue the ‘Metropolitan Seoul Love Gift Certificate’ that can be used anywhere in all 25 autonomous districts.

On the 28th, Seoul announced that starting from the 6th of next month, it will issue 100 billion KRW worth of ‘Metropolitan Seoul Love Gift Certificates’ at a 7% discount. The city had issued 75 billion KRW worth of metropolitan gift certificates last July, which sold out in just over an hour due to high popularity. Considering citizens’ additional requests, this time the issuance scale has been significantly increased to 100 billion KRW.

The ‘Metropolitan Seoul Love Gift Certificate’ differs from the gift certificates previously issued by each autonomous district that could only be used within the issuing district, as it can be used in all autonomous districts. For example, the ‘Jongno Love Gift Certificate’ issued by Jongno-gu could only be used at affiliated stores within Jongno-gu, but the ‘Metropolitan Seoul Love Gift Certificate’ is not limited to any specific district and can be used anywhere.

Purchasing the gift certificates is possible up to 400,000 KRW per person per month through five apps including Seoul Pay Plus (SeoulPay+): ▲Seoul Pay+ ▲Shinhan SOL ▲T-money Pay ▲Money Tree ▲Shinhan pLay. The maximum balance one can hold is 1 million KRW.

To prevent simultaneous access congestion, purchase times are divided by birth year (the second digit of the resident registration number): ‘odd’ numbers can buy from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and ‘even’ numbers from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. The issuance amount is 50 billion KRW each for morning and afternoon sessions, totaling 100 billion KRW. After 6 p.m., if there is remaining sales capacity, anyone can purchase regardless of odd or even status.

The metropolitan gift certificates can be used within five years from the purchase date, and if more than 60% of the certificate amount is used, the remaining balance can be refunded. Gifting is freely allowed within the holding limit. On the issuance day, the 6th, to ensure stable system operation, Seoul Pay Plus’s ‘Find Merchant’ service will be temporarily suspended for two hours starting 30 minutes before issuance, and ‘Gift Certificate Gifting’ will be suspended from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Additionally, Seoul announced that on the 29th, it will issue ‘Seoul Love Gift Certificates’ worth 35.8 billion KRW for Jongno, Jung, Seongdong, Gwangjin, and Seongbuk districts. The discount rate is 10%, with a purchase limit of 700,000 KRW per person per month and a maximum holding amount of 2 million KRW. These can be purchased through the same five apps including Seoul Pay Plus, and anyone can buy from 10 a.m. without odd-even restrictions.

Meanwhile, Seoul is also operating a service that allows users to directly transfer (integrate) gift certificate balances from 24 Seoul Love Gift Certificate payment apps used until last year, such as Beeple Zero Pay and Check Pay, to the five apps including Seoul Pay Plus. The targets are Seoul Love Gift Certificates issued by autonomous districts, special recovery gift certificates for district commercial areas with expired validity, and delivery-only Himkok gift certificates.

To transfer balances, users first download and register on the Seoul Pay Plus app from the Play Store (Android) or App Store (iOS), then run one of the previously used apps and select the ‘Transfer’ menu. The balance is then moved all at once to the Seoul Pay Plus app or others. Gang Nam-tae, head of the Seoul Small Business Support Division, said, “Issuing metropolitan gift certificates that can be used throughout Seoul without regional restrictions is expected to greatly help revitalize local neighborhoods and the regional economy, as well as reduce citizens’ household expenditure burdens.”

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