Sighs Erupt Over 'Lotto 60 Million Won Unclaimed'... Controversy Over Possible Hoax

A post claiming to have won second place in the Lotto but missed the claim deadline and thus failed to receive about 60 million won in prize money attracted attention online last weekend, but suspicions have been raised that the post is fabricated.

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On the 26th, a post titled "Please make sure to unblock the refusal to receive notifications from Donghang Lottery" was uploaded on X (formerly Twitter), a social networking service (SNS). The author, Mr. A, posted a certification photo of winning the Donghang Lottery 1031st draw and added, "Let's make it a habit to check at least once a year."

The certification photo showed the prize amount of 66,957,450 won along with the phrase "The payment deadline has passed." Mr. A also mentioned that he purchased the lottery ticket online.

The post gained significant attention on SNS, with 16,000 likes and 5,000 retweets. Most responses expressed sympathy, and many people tried to find ways to help Mr. A.

However, opinions emerged that the post was fabricated. It was pointed out that the lottery winning screen posted by Mr. A was actually an offline lottery winning screen.

Mr. B, who raised the suspicion, said, "When you buy a lottery ticket online, the winning slip looks different," and claimed, "The winning certification photo posted by Mr. A is an offline winning notification slip, so that screen cannot appear if purchased online."

He added, "When winning online, the prize amount appears next to the winning screen, but in the photo posted by Mr. A, the prize amount did not appear on the side," and said, "The unclaimed Lotto 1031st draw winners are only those who purchased offline."

Notice announcing the prize payment for the 1031st Lotto draw. Mr. A claimed that he did not receive the prize money for the lottery ticket he purchased online, but in reality, there was only one unpaid customer who bought the ticket offline.
[Photo by Donghang Lottery]

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In fact, when winning a lottery purchased online, even if the prize is unclaimed, the unclaimed amount appears on the side of the screen. However, the photo certified by Mr. A did not show the prize amount.

Also, among the winners of the Donghang Lottery 1031st draw who did not claim their prize money, only those who purchased offline (at a store in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon) had unclaimed winnings. If Mr. A actually purchased the lottery online, it means he has already claimed the prize money.

As a result, there has been a heated debate online about the lottery prize money. Most netizens responded with comments such as, "I don't understand why someone would lie even going as far as to fabricate," "I was sincerely sympathetic but now disappointed," and "I tried hard to find ways to help, but this is despicable."

However, some netizens responded, "Maybe he just wanted to win even like that. I understand his feelings," "Let's wait since there is no concrete evidence yet," and "He might have confused buying offline with buying online."

As of the 27th, the post has been deleted.

Meanwhile, Donghang Lottery publishes information on unclaimed high-value (1st and 2nd place) prize money within two months of expiration on its website. Although there is a significant gap in prize amounts between 1st and 2nd place Lotto winning numbers, Donghang Lottery classifies them as high-value winners and discloses related information.

Lotto first-place prize money must be claimed within one year from the start date of payment. Lotto first-place prize money can only be claimed at the NongHyup Bank headquarters. Prize money past the claim deadline is fully transferred to the lottery fund according to the Lottery and Lottery Fund Act and is used for various public interest projects such as housing stability support for low-income groups, scholarship programs, and cultural heritage protection projects.

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