Seoul to issue W265b in gift vouchers ahead of Chuseok, with priority access for elderly buyers

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Friday it will issue a total of 265 billion won ($198 million) in Seoul Love Gift Vouchers from Monday through Friday ahead of the Chuseok holiday. The issuance comprises 80 billion won in city-wide Seoul Love Gift Vouchers, redeemable at affiliated stores across Seoul, and 185 billion won in district-level vouchers, valid only at stores within each respective district. The city is also introducing, for the first time, a senior-priority purchase system that gives older residents early access to the vouchers.

Of the 80 billion won in city-wide vouchers, the city has set aside 8 billion won exclusively for elderly residents. The senior-only allotment will go on sale Monday at 9 a.m. through Thursday, targeting Seoul Pay Plus app users born in 1961 or earlier. Buyers receive a 5 percent discount at purchase, plus a 2 percent payback in vouchers on spending — a combined benefit of 7 percent. To ensure the vouchers reach their intended recipients, the senior-only vouchers cannot be gifted to other users.

The city-wide vouchers for the general public — totaling 72 billion won — will go on sale Friday. They carry the same 5 percent purchase discount and 2 percent spending payback as the senior-only vouchers. To stagger demand, residents born in even years may buy between noon and 2 p.m., while those born in odd years may purchase between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.; each time slot has an allotment of 36 billion won. From 6 p.m. onward, any remaining stock — including leftover senior-only vouchers — will be available to all buyers regardless of birth year. The 2 percent payback applies to purchases made from Monday and will be distributed as vouchers on Oct. 20, subject to budget availability.

District-level Seoul Love Gift Vouchers worth a combined 185 billion won will be issued Tuesday through Friday, with sales opening daily at 9 a.m. on a rolling schedule by district. They are available through the Seoul Pay Plus app at a 5 percent discount. On Tuesday, seven districts including Geumcheon-gu and Seongdong-gu will launch sales; on Wednesday, eight districts including Yongsan-gu and Gwangjin-gu; and on Thursday, nine districts including Gangbuk-gu and Gwanak-gu. Guro-gu will release an additional batch on Friday. Seongbuk-gu is not included in this round, having separately issued 20 billion won in vouchers on Aug. 28.

Some districts — Jung-gu, Gangseo-gu, Guro-gu, Geumcheon-gu and Gangnam-gu — are running payback promotions on top of the standard 5 percent purchase discount. Jung-gu will refund 2 percent of spending in vouchers, while Gangseo-gu, Guro-gu, Geumcheon-gu and Gangnam-gu will each refund 5 percent. The payback period runs from each district's designated start date until the budget is exhausted, with vouchers distributed the following month.

For both city-wide and district vouchers, each person may purchase up to 500,000 won per month and hold a maximum of 1.5 million won at any one time.

Unused vouchers may be fully refunded. For vouchers purchased by bank transfer, a partial refund of the remaining balance is available once at least 60 percent of the balance has been spent. Vouchers bought by credit card, however, cannot be partially refunded or gifted to others.

The city is also expanding the ways residents can buy and use Seoul Love Gift Vouchers. Working with private fintech companies, Seoul plans to add more payment options and broaden access to Seoul Pay QR payments at stores.

In addition to bank transfers and card payments, users will be able to purchase vouchers using Naver Pay Money. The city plans to extend payment options further to include Toss and Kakao Pay.

Seoul Pay QR payment functionality will be integrated into payment terminals operated by Naver Financial and Toss Place, making it easier for residents to use their Seoul Love Gift Vouchers in stores.

Starting Monday, Kakao Pay payments via Seoul Pay QR codes will also become available, broadening the range of payment methods compatible with the QR system.

Seoul Love Gift Vouchers are a mobile local currency introduced in January 2020 to boost sales for small businesses and revitalize neighborhood commercial districts. The program initially ran on the Zeropay platform before being relaunched in January 2022 on a dedicated platform called Seoul Pay Plus. Its scope has since expanded to include both district-specific vouchers and city-wide vouchers valid across Seoul. Issuance stood at 60.5 billion won in 2020 and grew to 137.3 billion won in 2021. From 2024 onward, annual issuance has been maintained at hundreds of billions of won.