10% Cashback on Monthly Tamnaneun Jeon Payments of Up to 1 Million Won; Up to 200,000 Won Over Two Months

【Financial News Jeju = Reporter Yong-bok Jeong】 The monthly payment limit eligible for 10% cashback on Jeju Province’s local currency, Tamnaneun Jeon, will rise from 700,000 won to 1 million won starting on the 5th. The measure expands the amount of spending eligible for the benefit. It also aims to channel Chuseok shopping demand and spending by visitors attending nationwide sports events in September and October toward sales at small businesses in Jeju Province.
According to Jeju Special Self-Governing Province on the 4th, the payment limit eligible for Tamnaneun Jeon cashback will be raised to 1 million won per month for two months, from midnight on the 5th through October 31.
The cashback rate will remain at 10%. Users who spend 1 million won in a month will receive up to 100,000 won in Tamnaneun Jeon points. Those who reach the limit in both months can receive benefits of up to 200,000 won on total spending of 2 million won.
Previously, the 10% rate applied to monthly spending of up to 700,000 won, limiting the maximum monthly benefit to 70,000 won. The revised limit increases the maximum monthly benefit per user by 30,000 won.
Additional funding has also been secured. In consultation with the provincial council, Jeju Province secured 26.65 billion won in Tamnaneun Jeon-related funding through its second supplementary budget. It also received an additional 4.45 billion won in national funding, which will be used to promote spending during Chuseok and the sports events.
The expansion is based on the local currency’s consumer-spending effects observed earlier this year. When Jeju Province temporarily raised the Tamnaneun Jeon cashback rate from 10% to 20% for the Lunar New Year holiday in February, monthly spending reached 94.78 billion won. This was the highest monthly figure since the points-based system was introduced in 2024.
The key question was where the spending occurred. At the time, 71.5% of total spending was concentrated at merchants with annual sales of 500 million won or less. Of the total, 56.5% was spent at merchants with annual sales below 300 million won, while 15% was spent at those with sales of 300 million won to less than 500 million won. The figures suggest that expanding Tamnaneun Jeon benefits could translate into sales for small businesses rather than large retailers.
This time, however, Jeju Province is not raising the cashback rate itself to 20% as it did in February. Instead, it will keep the rate at 10% while increasing the monthly payment limit by 300,000 won, giving consumers more room to spend. The approach is intended to increase spending during Chuseok and the sports events while managing the fiscal burden.
Jeju Province is also seeking to strengthen links with tourism and sports-related demand. It plans to connect the tourism platform NOWDA with Tamnaneun Jeon and provide Tamnaneun Jeon benefits to users verified as participants during the National Sports Festival for the Disabled and the Korean National Sports Festival.
Even when Jeju hosts large-scale events, the economic impact on the region may be limited if spending on lodging, food, and shopping is concentrated at a few large businesses. By combining the events with local currency use, the province believes it can direct visitors’ spending to local merchants, including neighborhood restaurants, retail stores, and traditional markets.
The province also plans to improve payment convenience. Jeju Province will expand QR payments and connect Tamnaneun Jeon with everyday services such as university student ID cards and K-Pass. It will also analyze usage data by region and business category to assess where spending increased and evaluate the policy’s effects.
Kang Ae-sook, director of Jeju Province’s Economic Vitality Bureau, said, "Tamnaneun Jeon is a livelihood-economy policy that reduces residents’ spending burden while channeling local consumption into sales for small businesses. By raising the limit, we will invigorate local consumption and closely connect residents’ daily lives with the regional economy."


[email protected] Yong-bok Jeong Reporter