Deadline today for high-oil-price victim support fund, with nearly 950,000 yet to apply

Friday is the final day to apply for the high-oil-price victim support fund, a program that provides between 100,000 won ($69) and 600,000 won per person to households in the bottom 70 percent of the income bracket, in response to the economic fallout from the Middle East war.

About 2.6 percent of eligible recipients — roughly 950,000 people — have yet to submit an application.

The Ministry of Interior and Safety said online applications through credit card company websites and in-person applications at community centers will both close at 6 p.m. Friday, covering the first and second rounds of the fund.

The government distributed first-round payments of 450,000 to 600,000 won per person to vulnerable groups — including near-poverty households, single-parent families and basic livelihood recipients — from April 27 to May 8. A second round, offering 100,000 to 250,000 won per person to the remaining eligible population, has been under way since May 18.

Vulnerable-group members who missed the first-round application window may still apply online or in person through Friday's deadline. Online applications are accepted until 6 p.m., while in-person applications are available from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. — or until 4 p.m. at bank branches.

As of June 25, a combined 35,186,628 people — 97.4 percent of all eligible recipients — had applied across both rounds, with a total of 6.08 trillion won disbursed.

First-round applicants numbered 3,192,000, representing 98.8 percent of that round's eligible pool, while second-round applicants reached 31,994,000, or 97.2 percent of those eligible.

The remaining 2.6 percent, about 952,000 people, have not yet applied. To assist elderly residents and others with limited mobility, local governments are also running a door-to-door application service, in which officials visit homes directly to help residents apply and receive their payments.

Anyone who does not apply by the deadline will forfeit their entitlement to the fund.

Recipients must spend the funds by midnight on Aug. 31. Any unused balance will be automatically canceled and returned to the government.

In addition, those who dispute their eligibility determination may file an objection through the People's Ombudsman portal by 6 p.m. on July 17. In-person objections can be submitted at community centers, though because Constitution Day falls on July 17 as a public holiday, in-person filings must be submitted by 6 p.m. the previous day, July 16.