Government, retailers and manufacturers to join forces for 18-day nationwide spending drive; cars, appliances and farm products to see deepest-ever discounts; Onuri gift vouchers and lodging coupons to support domestic demand recovery
The government will hold its largest-ever pan-government consumer spending campaign to revive domestic demand and boost regional economies. The "Korea Grand Festival," a nationwide discount event, is set to run from Oct. 29 to Nov. 18.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups presented the plan Friday at an emergency economic headquarters meeting and economic ministers' meeting held at the Government Complex Sejong, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol.
According to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the festival is designed as a national-scale discount event bringing together manufacturers, online and offline retail platforms, and central and local governments.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups will oversee this year's event, with 10 agencies collaborating — including the Office for Government Policy Coordination, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of Interior and Safety, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Customs Service.
During the event, the government plans to offer record-scale discounts on products closely tied to everyday life, including automobiles, home appliances, clothing, daily necessities and seasonal kimchi-making ingredients such as agricultural, livestock and fishery products.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will organize a large-scale discount campaign with the largest-ever lineup of leading retail, manufacturing and service companies. The two ministries also plan to hold major discount events in partnership with high-performing venues such as Lotte Department Store's Jamsil branch.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups plans to raise the discount rate on digital Onuri gift vouchers from 7 percent to 10 percent during the event, and will also offer consumer benefits including credit card cashback and reward points.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism plans to distribute 70,000 lodging coupons for regions outside Greater Seoul and 30,000 island tourism lodging coupons, and will link the festival with local festivals nationwide to boost tourism and consumer activity in the regions.
The Korea Customs Service will run discount events of up to 50 percent at 26 duty-free shops across the country and will encourage foreign visitors to travel to regional destinations through airport welcome events.
The government plans to identify additional linked events through its cross-ministry joint task force and will finalize a detailed implementation plan in early October.
boo@heraldcorp.com
