Gangwon Province Launches Second Round of "High Oil Price Damage Compensation" for 1.1 Million Residents

Gangwon Province Completes 89% of First Round High Oil Price Compensation

Second Round to Begin on May 18 for Bottom 70% Income Bracket

Targeting 1.1 Million Residents... Expansion of 'Visiting Application' Services

Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province announced on May 10 that it has completed the first round of “High Oil Price Damage Compensation” payments, which were implemented to alleviate the financial burden on residents caused by high oil prices and inflation, as of the 8th. The province has now begun full-scale preparations for the second round of payments.

A panoramic view of the Gangwon Provincial Government Office. Provided by Gangwon Province.

According to the province, the first round achieved a payment rate of approximately 89.1% among vulnerable groups, including the second-lowest income bracket, single-parent households, and recipients of basic livelihood security.

Regarding application methods, online applications accounted for 60.3% while offline applications made up 39.7%. This marks an increase of about 19.5 percentage points in offline applications compared to the first round of last year’s consumption coupon payments (online 79.8%, offline 20.2%). In particular, the proportion of “prepaid cards” among offline applications was 35.9%, up about 22.1 percentage points from last year (13.8%), reflecting the first round’s focus on vulnerable groups.

However, the payment rate was somewhat lower than last year’s first round of consumption coupon payments (99.1%). The province analyzed this as being due to several independent factors: the high proportion of elderly recipients, limited accessibility in the wide geographical area, delays in applications caused by residents being occupied with farming season and other work, and insufficient initial publicity.

Accordingly, Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province plans to strengthen its efforts to increase the payment rate ahead of the second round of payments, which will begin on May 18.

The province will fully expand “visiting application” services, enhance targeted guidance for those who have not yet applied, and intensify community-focused publicity in order to minimize missed applications.

In addition, by increasing support personnel, the province will reinforce on-site application assistance for vulnerable groups such as military personnel stationed in the province and those with mobility difficulties. Both online and offline publicity efforts will be strengthened so that more residents can conveniently apply for the payments.

Furthermore, considering that the usage period for the High Oil Price Damage Compensation is until August 31, the province will actively encourage the use of the funds to stimulate local consumption and vitalize the regional economy by designating a “Consumption Promotion Week” after the June 3 local elections.

The second round of payments will start on May 18 and continue until July 3, targeting approximately 1.1 million residents in the bottom 70% income bracket, including those who did not apply in the first round.

The head of the Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province High Oil Price Damage Compensation Task Force, Deputy Governor for Economic Affairs Kim Gwangrae, stated, “We will thoroughly analyze the results of the first round to raise the application rate for the second round, and ensure the support funds are not merely applied for, but actually spent to revitalize local businesses and contribute to the recovery of the regional economy.” He also urged, “From the second round, we hope military personnel stationed in the province will apply for the support funds at their posts and actively participate in local consumption, thereby helping boost the regional economy.”

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