South Gyeongsang Province to launch integrated resident membership card

South Gyeongsang Province is moving ahead with plans to launch a resident membership card that bundles public facility fee waivers, private merchant discounts and policy allowances into a single platform. The initiative aims to expand universal lifestyle benefits for the province's 3.3 million residents beyond the targeted support programs that currently serve specific groups.

The province held its first official consultative meeting Monday at the provincial government headquarters in Changwon, bringing together relevant provincial departments, heads of economic affairs from 18 cities and counties, and researchers from the Gyeongnam Research Institute. The gathering was convened to flesh out the core task under Governor Park Wan-su's top campaign pledge — the "Happiness UP Five Welfare" initiative launched in his current term — and to gather feedback from local governments.

The membership card is designed as an integrated lifestyle platform open to any provincial resident aged 18 or older, allowing cardholders to access public and private benefits tailored to their individual eligibility and circumstances. The central goal is to consolidate the scattered vouchers and policy allowances currently spread across transportation, culture, welfare and other sectors into a single system for greater convenience.

To maximize accessibility, the province plans to offer both a smartphone-based mobile app — functioning as a digital ID — and a physical plastic card. The dual format is intended to prevent digitally disadvantaged groups, including older residents less comfortable with technology, from being left out. For private discounts, the province is exploring a range of options, including partnering with major card companies to tap into existing credit and debit card merchant networks or recruiting its own affiliated merchants.

The approach sets the program apart from similar efforts in other regions. Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province operate apps focused mainly on administrative authentication such as digital certificate issuance, and Busan has stayed within the bounds of its local currency system. South Gyeongsang Province, by contrast, intends to build its own model — consolidating public facility discounts and everyday private spending benefits, including restaurants and local commercial districts, onto a single payment card.

Among the biggest challenges to a smooth rollout are bridging the gap in cultural and sports infrastructure across the 18 cities and counties and resolving how to compensate for lost fee revenue. Because public facilities are concentrated in larger cities, measures to prevent residents in smaller county areas from feeling left out will be essential. How the province and individual municipalities will share the cost of covering revenue shortfalls from fee waivers — and how the card will link with each locality's existing local currency system — remain issues to be worked out.

Starting with Monday's meeting, the province plans to conduct resident surveys and expert consultations to gauge specific demand. A policy research contract will be put out to tender in the first half of next year to finalize the optimal business model and produce precise estimates of platform construction costs and fiscal compensation needs. In the second half of next year, the province will lay the institutional groundwork by signing agreements with the 18 cities and counties and enacting relevant ordinances, before building the IT infrastructure and beginning a phased rollout centered on core functions in the second half of 2028.

"The resident membership card is an integrated lifestyle platform that connects residents with the policies and services they need," said Hwang Ju-yeon, head of the province's economy and enterprise division. "We will work closely with the 18 cities and counties to ensure that all residents benefit equally."