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By Kim Jae-won
Sales of lottery tickets soared more than 10 percent in the first half of the year, with more people looking for luck in the gloomy economy, the state-run lottery agency said Thursday.
According to the Korea Lottery Commission, sales of lottery tickets reached 1.4 trillion won ($1.3 billion) from January to June, up 10.2 percent, or 127 billion won from the same period in 2010.
Consumers say that the lack of a social protection system and weakening job security here drives people to be obsessed with the tickets, which sells for 1,000 won (94 cents) apiece, hoping it will guarantee an economically satisfying life.
“I buy 10 lottery tickets every week. I have two sons, who attend college, but have no savings to cover their tuition. That’s why I try my luck on the lottery,” said Ko Sang-woo, a 48-year-old taxi driver in Seoul.
Korea’s high university tuition, which ranges between 3 million won ($2,800) to 10 million won per semester, has been a big social problem burdening ordinary households. It is the second-largest among OECD members except the U.S.
Analysts say sales of lottery tickets will hit 2.9 trillion won at the end of this year _ the biggest in seven years since 2004 thanks to increased sales in the first half and introduction of a pension-style lottery titled “Pension Lottery 520.”
This has drawn attention from consumers here emerging as a new cash cow for the agency since it was launched in July. The agency prints 6.3 million tickets of the pension-style lottery every week, and sells almost all of them.
Sales of lottery tickets quadrupled to 4.2 trillion won in 2003, when Lotto, the six number selection method, was introduced in Korea. It dropped to 3.5 trillion won in 2004, and slipped further to 2.8 trillion won in 2005. The figure marked 2.6 trillion won in 2006, and reached 2.4 trillion won in 2007.
In 2008, it went up 1 percent from the previous year, and rose to 2.46 trillion won in 2009. Last year, sales posted 2.52 trillion won.
Meanwhile, the lottery agency said that it paid 443 billion won to boost public welfare from a child birth promotion campaign to subsidiaries for low-income families. The agency also spent money on retired veterans, abused seniors, and physically challenged people.
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