By Yoon Ja-young
Maybe they lost their tickets, or maybe they forgot they had purchased them. More than 200 billion won worth of lotto prizes have gone unclaimed over a four-and-a-half-year period ending last year. What the winners might not want to know is that the unclaimed prize money was transferred to government coffers.
According to Ministry of Strategy and Finance data submitted to Rep. Park Myung-jae of the governing Saenuri Party, a total of 207.9 billion won in prize money had not been claimed between January 2009 and August 2013.
The government took over the funds when the deadlines expired, one year after the winners were announced, and used them to provide diverse public services, according to the ministry.
More than 60 percent of the unclaimed money consisted of fifth-place prizes worth only 5,000 won. A total of 26 million people lost out on such prizes, which added up to 130.2 billion won.
Sometimes, however, even first-prize winners did not claim their money _ there were 17 such cases, with the sum of the unclaimed first prizes amounting to 32.7 billion won.
To hit the jackpot, a person has to choose six winning numbers out of 45. First-prize winners must claim their prizes at the Nonghyup headquarters in Seodaemun, downtown Seoul, while second and third prizes can be claimed at Nonghyup branches nationwide.
Fourth- and fifth-prize winners can claim their prizes at either lotto shops or Nonghyup branches.
Maybe they lost their tickets, or maybe they forgot they had purchased them. More than 200 billion won worth of lotto prizes have gone unclaimed over a four-and-a-half-year period ending last year. What the winners might not want to know is that the unclaimed prize money was transferred to government coffers.
According to Ministry of Strategy and Finance data submitted to Rep. Park Myung-jae of the governing Saenuri Party, a total of 207.9 billion won in prize money had not been claimed between January 2009 and August 2013.
The government took over the funds when the deadlines expired, one year after the winners were announced, and used them to provide diverse public services, according to the ministry.
More than 60 percent of the unclaimed money consisted of fifth-place prizes worth only 5,000 won. A total of 26 million people lost out on such prizes, which added up to 130.2 billion won.
Sometimes, however, even first-prize winners did not claim their money _ there were 17 such cases, with the sum of the unclaimed first prizes amounting to 32.7 billion won.
To hit the jackpot, a person has to choose six winning numbers out of 45. First-prize winners must claim their prizes at the Nonghyup headquarters in Seodaemun, downtown Seoul, while second and third prizes can be claimed at Nonghyup branches nationwide.
Fourth- and fifth-prize winners can claim their prizes at either lotto shops or Nonghyup branches.
