Suncheon Love Gift Certificates Achieve Sales of 55.6 Billion KRW in the First Half of the Year

Significant Impact on Local Economic Revitalization

Increase in Small Business Sales, Contribution to Citizens' Household Budgets

Suncheon City, Jeollanam-do (Mayor Noh Gwan-gyu) announced that the sales amount of the Suncheon Love Gift Certificate in the first half of this year was settled at 55.6 billion KRW, a 0.3% increase compared to the first half of the previous year.

This amount is more than 35% and 20% higher than the neighboring cities of Yeosu and Gwangyang, respectively.

[Image courtesy of Suncheon City]

The city evaluated that despite the government's reduction in national subsidy rate for the Suncheon Love Gift Certificate (from 4% to 2%) and the restriction on merchants with sales exceeding 3 billion KRW, the gift certificate has contributed to increasing sales for small business owners and easing the financial difficulties of citizens.

In January, to celebrate the New Year and the Lunar New Year holiday, the city implemented a special 10% discount, resulting in sales of 13.8 billion KRW worth of Suncheon Love Gift Certificates. From February to March, a general 5% discount was applied, with sales of 7.9 billion KRW in February and 6.6 billion KRW in March.

Additionally, from April, coinciding with the 2023 Suncheon Bay International Garden Expo and Family Month, an 8% special discount was implemented.

The change in the special discount rate was a measure in response to the decrease in the national subsidy rate (from 4% to 2%).

Nevertheless, sales of Suncheon Love Gift Certificates reached 10.4 billion KRW in April and 10.3 billion KRW in May, marking a 57% increase compared to the previous month.

On the other hand, in June, sales dropped to 6.4 billion KRW, a 39% decrease compared to the previous month.

This decline was due to the implementation of the revised ‘2023 Local Love Gift Certificate Guidelines’ starting June 1, which restricted the use of gift certificates at merchants with annual sales exceeding 3 billion KRW (206 locations), such as Nonghyup Hanaro Mart and Farmers Market, focusing on small-scale merchants.

The reason why the sales amount of Suncheon Love Gift Certificates in the first half of this year was higher than those of neighboring Yeosu and Gwangyang is attributed to the city’s investment of 9.2 billion KRW in municipal funds compared to 5.6 billion KRW in Yeosu and 4.5 billion KRW in Gwangyang, as well as securing 2.2 billion KRW in national subsidies compared to 700 million KRW in Yeosu and 1 billion KRW in Gwangyang.

Meanwhile, Suncheon City plans to maintain the special 8% discount until the budget is exhausted to stimulate consumption sentiment, which has been weakened by the application of the revised ‘2023 Local Love Gift Certificate Guidelines’ and rising prices, aiming to revitalize the local economy, increase sales for small business owners, and successfully operate the Garden Expo.

A city official stated, “Last month, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety submitted the 2024 budget request to the Ministry of Economy and Finance excluding the Local Love Gift Certificate project, so securing the national subsidy budget for the Local Love Gift Certificate in 2024 is expected to be difficult,” adding, “Since the Suncheon Love Gift Certificate has a virtuous cycle effect on the local economy, we will review the budget for next year’s Suncheon Love Gift Certificate by monitoring the sales trend in the second half and subsequent government policies.”

Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik hss79@asiae.co.kr

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