Applications for cash handouts begin nationwide

Citizens apply to receive prepaid vouchers at a welfare center in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Monday, the first day of applications. To boost consumption, the Lee Jae Myung administration is distributing prepaid vouchers available to all citizens, ranging from 150,000 won ($108.80) to 400,000 won, depending on income level. The vouchers can be used primarily at small businesses, while their use is restricted at large retailers, online shopping malls, food delivery apps and businesses related to gambling. Applications will be accepted online and offline until Sept. 12. Yonhap

The first-round applications for the government's cash handouts to all Koreans began nationwide Monday and will continue until Sept. 12, the interior ministry said.

Under the plan intended to help stimulate domestic consumption, all Korean citizens residing in the country as of June 18, the day before the plan was announced, will receive a one-time payment of 150,000 won ($108).

Foreigners are in principle excluded from the program, but those who are registered on the resident registration cards including Koreans and subscribe to the state health insurance are eligible. Permanent residents, marriage immigrants and recognized refugees who are covered by the state health insurance are also eligible for the handouts.

The ministry said the application and distribution of the handouts, called "consumption coupons," will be carried out over an eight-week period till 6 p.m. Sept. 12. The coupons are issued the day after application, and the expiration date is Nov. 30. They cannot be used at large supermarkets, department stores, duty-free shops, online shopping malls and gambling businesses, among others.

Additional targeted assistance will be provided based on income level. Individuals in near-poverty households and single-parent families will receive 300,000 won each, while recipients of the basic living allowance will get 400,000 won per person.

To promote balanced regional development, residents outside the greater Seoul area, including Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, will receive an extra 30,000 won. Those living in 84 designated rural and fishing communities facing population decline nationwide will be granted an additional 50,000 won.

People can choose to receive the payment through one of several methods: credit or debit cards, prepaid cards or local government-issued gift certificates.

To prevent the overloading of the web servers and congestion of community centers, the online and offline applications can be accepted only on designated days for each individuals this week, depending on the last digit of one's birth year. Applications for digits 1 and 6 can be made on Monday, digits 2 and 7 on Tuesday, digits 3 and 8 on Wednesday, digits 4 and 9 on Thursday, and digits 5 and 0 on Friday.

A second round of payments, scheduled between Sept. 22 and Oct. 31, will provide an additional 100,000 won to the bottom 90 percent of income earners, the interior ministry said.

"We need to keep the economy circulating smoothly, like blood circulation, through such stimulus measures at a time when the economic growth rate is nearing zero," Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol said while visiting a local traditional market in the central city of Gongju.

"I hope these consumer coupons will help small business owners endure and overcome the current difficulties. In the longer term, we will build a country where income and consumption increase, and businesses thrive," he added.