Namwon Sarang Gift Certificate, Registration Restriction for Franchise Stores Exceeding Annual Sales of 3 Billion Won

Namwon City, Jeonbuk Province, announced on the 26th that it will restrict the registration of merchants with annual sales exceeding 3 billion KRW in accordance with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s revision of the ‘Local Love Gift Certificate Operation Guidelines.’

In February, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety revised the ‘Local Love Gift Certificate Operation Guidelines’ and circulated them to local governments nationwide, stating that gift certificates were being used in places such as large hospitals and large marts, which are difficult to consider small businesses, and that the operation would be aligned with the purpose of supporting small business owners.

Namwon City Hall Exterior View
[Photo by Namwon City]

The contentious part of the revised guidelines is the uniform restriction on merchants with annual sales exceeding 3 billion KRW, without considering regional characteristics.

If merchants with annual sales exceeding 3 billion KRW are restricted, citizens living in eup and myeon areas where there are no notable marts or agricultural material stores are expected to experience the greatest inconvenience.

However, it is impossible not to follow the government guidelines, as more than half of the 11 billion KRW discount amount from the issuance of gift certificates, specifically 5.8 billion KRW, is supported by national funds, and penalties will be imposed on next year’s budget immediately.

Recently, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety set August as the guideline deadline and is urging local governments that have not implemented the revised guidelines to comply. In the province, Gimje City, Wanju County, Muju County, Jangsu County, and Buan County have already followed the guidelines, so the remaining cities and counties, including Namwon City, are expected to accept the revision soon.

There are 4,006 Namwon Sarang Gift Certificate affiliated merchants, of which about 2.5%, or 100 merchants, fall under the merchant restriction. By industry, this is expected to include Hanaro Mart, Nonghyup Agricultural Material Mart, large food material marts, large hospitals, and gas stations.

However, policy-issued gift certificates without discount support, such as the agricultural public interest allowance, can still be used at existing merchants with annual sales exceeding 3 billion KRW.

A city official said, “Merchants with annual sales exceeding 3 billion KRW have received many inquiries and are well aware of the situations in the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and other cities and counties, so they are accepting the merchant restrictions. However, we are focusing on promotion because we are concerned that citizens using the gift certificates will experience inconvenience.”

He added, “I hope that even now, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety will allow operations tailored to regional characteristics rather than uniform restrictions.”

Namwon = Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Jeong Young-gwon baekok@asiae.co.kr

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