"Encourage purchases by companies and public institutions"... Local gift certificates to be expanded to 31 trillion won

[Financial News] The government plans to increase the issuance of Local Love Gift Certificates to 31.2 trillion won by 2030. It will also push to boost purchases by companies, corporations and public institutions, while promoting a plan to convert various points into local gift certificates. The government also intends to allow the usage areas to be set flexibly, taking residents' actual daily living zones into account. This is the first time the government has set issuance, consumption and management directions for local gift certificates on a five-year basis.
On the 30th, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced the 'Basic Plan to Promote Local Love Gift Certificates (2026-2030).' The plan follows last year's revision of the Local Love Gift Certificate Act, which made state administrative and financial support mandatory and required a basic plan to be drawn up every five years. This is the first statutory basic plan established since the revision.
Under the plan, the government aims to raise the annual issuance of local gift certificates from 24 trillion won to 31.2 trillion won by 2030. To support that goal, it will set separate targets for central government subsidies over the next five years and build a support system that reduces the burden on local governments. The current approach, which has focused on annual total amounts, will be replaced with management by purpose and by project.
The government will also broaden funding sources. At present, issuance relies heavily on individual purchases and central government support. It plans to encourage purchases by companies, corporations and public institutions, and to promote the conversion of various points into gift certificates. It will also expand programs that provide gift certificates in connection with community activities such as volunteering, donations and environmental efforts.
The usage area will also be revised. Instead of setting the scope only by administrative boundaries, the government will allow it to reflect residents' actual daily living zones.
The government will survey local spending conditions for gift certificates, expand merchant networks in areas with weak usage infrastructure, and push to broaden QR payments and improve notification services for usage information.
The scale of local gift certificate issuance has been rising again recently. The number of local governments issuing the certificates increased from 66 in 2018 to 196 last year. Total issuance, including general and policy-based issuance, rose from 17 trillion won in 2020 to 29.6 trillion won in 2022, before falling to 19 trillion won in 2024. Last year, it climbed again to 26.7 trillion won. General issuance accounted for 22.4 trillion won, while policy-based issuance reached 4.2 trillion won.
The share of paper certificates has also fallen sharply. Last year, card-type certificates accounted for 67.3 percent of total issuance, while mobile certificates made up 24.5 percent, bringing the combined share to more than 90 percent. Paper certificates accounted for 8.2 percent. The number of merchants nationwide rose from 1.396 million in 2020 to 2.374 million last year. Merchants in population-declining regions also increased from 79,000 to 176,000 over the same period.
The government will shift certificate management from a manual-centered system to a data-driven one. It will establish a cooperative framework among the central government, local governments and the private sector, and integrate the management of policy-based issuance used for policy subsidies and other payments. It will also standardize local government certificate data and use it to strengthen crackdowns on illegal distribution.
The number of cases involving illegal receipt and unlawful cash redemption fell from 102 in 2021 to 68 last year. Related disciplinary actions also dropped from 102 to 32 over the same period. The government plans to upgrade its enforcement and management system for illegal distribution starting next year.
MOIS will prepare detailed implementation plans every year and review progress. Minister Yun Ho-jung said, "This basic plan is a turning point that will transform Local Love Gift Certificates from a simple discount support policy into a key policy tool that revitalizes the livelihood economy and spreads the value of local communities."


[email protected] Lee Bo-mi Reporter