Osan City to Intensively Crack Down on Illegal Distribution of Livelihood Recovery Consumer Coupons

Crackdown on Illegal Distribution of Livelihood Recovery Consumer Coupons
Fines and Criminal Penalties for Violations
Active Citizen Cooperation Requested to Support Local Economy

On August 12, the city of Osan in Gyeonggi Province announced that it will conduct intensive crackdowns through November to prevent the illegal distribution of livelihood recovery consumer coupons.

The "Livelihood Recovery Consumer Coupons," which the government has been distributing since last month, can only be used at local affiliated stores with annual sales of 3 billion won or less.

In Osan, 239,000 people, or 96% of all eligible recipients, completed applications during the first round. The second round of distribution is scheduled to take place from September 22 to October 31.

The city believes that illegal distribution activities are likely to intensify before and after the distribution period, and has decided to continue crackdowns through November. Common types of illegal distribution include: converting coupons to cash via secondhand trading websites; fake transactions where cards are swiped without providing goods or services; and affiliated stores receiving and exchanging more gift certificates than their actual sales.

Illegal use of the consumer coupons is subject to a fine of up to 20 million won under the Act on the Management of Subsidies and the Local Gift Certificate Act. Depending on the severity of the violation, criminal penalties may also be imposed.

A city official stated, "The Livelihood Recovery Consumer Coupon is an important policy for revitalizing the local economy and supporting small business owners, so we ask for citizens' active cooperation to eradicate illegal distribution."

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