– 10% Payback Benefit When Used in Ganghwa-gun and Ongjin-gun Starting from the second Half of 2024 –
On Apr. 18, the Incheon Metropolitan Government announced it would initiate a policy to provide payback benefits for Incheon Sarang Gift Cards to protect small and independent businesses and support regions experiencing population decline. The policy offers additional support for Good Price Stores and Ganghwa-gun and Ongjin-gun, areas of population decline.
<Incheon Sarang Gift Card>
<Incheon e-Eum Taxi Service>
The city will offer a 12% payback for using businesses partnered with Incheon Sarang Gift Card designated as Good Price Stores for struggling citizens and small and independent businesses due to the ever-increasing market prices. Good Price Stores refer to excellent businesses that display features designated by the central and local governments: reasonable prices, hygienic operations, and pleasant services.
The policy on additional payback support for Good Price Stores is expected to increase customer benefits and raise the use and revenue of such businesses, aiding the creation of a virtuous cycle within the regional economy.
The additional payback support for Good Price Stores is scheduled to start on May 1, 2024; businesses subject to the policy can be viewed at the websites of the Incheon Metropolitan Government (https://www.incheon.go.kr/eco/ECO021002) and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (https://www.goodprice.go.kr/user/cmm/main/mainPage.do#).
The Incheon Metropolitan Government also plans to provide a 10% payback on making purchases in partnered stores in Ganghwa-gun and Ongjin-gun, whose annual revenues are KRW 3 billion or lower. This support is expected to potentially increase the de facto population of Ganghwa-gun and Ongjin-gun, such as tourists, contributing to building a robust regional economic foundation through spending within the local areas.
Despite having population drops, Ganghwa-gun and Ongjin-gun have been excluded from additional funding by the central government for areas of population decline because they belong to a metropolitan city. The Incheon Metropolitan Government has responded by continuously requesting the government to allow the regions to receive the funding; as a result, Ganghwa-gun and Ongjin-gun will be able to secure the benefits as areas of population decline starting this year. The benefits policy will be enforced immediately upon completing its system development. (Expected to be in the second half of 2024)
The city also plans to initiate the Family Love Event in May, the family month, and September, the time of Chuseok holidays, to alleviate the burden of household spending by raising the payback to 7% (currently 5%) when using the Incheon Sarang Gift Card in partnered stores with annual revenues of over KRW 300 million and less than KRW 3 billion.
Park Chan-hoon, the Chief of the Economy and Industry Division, said, “We are struggling due to the drastic reduction in the budget for Sarang Gift Cards and the central government’s shifts in policies,” adding, “Despite all the difficulties, we will review various measures to secure additional government funding, such as applying for the Ministry of Interior and Safety’s public contest projects, to do all we can to protect small and independent businesses and promote our local economy.”
<Park Chan-hoon, the Chief of the Economy and Industry Division, is briefing the reporters on the current matters of his division at the City Hall’s briefing room on Apr. 18>
<Samsung Pay available for the convenient use of Incheon Sarang Gift Card>
