The cultural gift certificate usage on the book culture platform YES24 resumed on the 24th. YES24 had temporarily suspended the use of the cultural gift certificate since the 21st.
The cultural gift certificate company noted that starting from the afternoon of the same day, the use of its cultural gift certificate at YES24 would resume. Previously, YES24 announced that it would temporarily suspend the use of the cultural gift certificate from the 21st, and it is currently down. However, there has been no arrangement for the resumption of the cultural gift certificate usage for Naver Pay and NHN Payco, which had their partnership ended earlier.
Recently, concerns arose among consumers that the cultural gift certificate could turn into a situation like the past issues with Timaf and Merge Points, following the financial authorities' caution notice regarding cultural gift certificate usage and the suspension of usage by some partner companies. However, the cultural gift certificate company stated that the issue pointed out by the authorities is related to online cultural gift certificates, and customers do not need to worry about physical cultural gift certificates they possess.
Additionally, the cultural gift certificate company explained that it is making every effort to minimize customer anxiety by signing a business agreement with the prepaid payment service provider InnoVail to resolve legal issues following the notice from financial authorities last week. CEO Lee Dong-hyun of the cultural gift certificate company signed the business agreement on this day to cooperate with InnoVail to provide prepaid electronic payment means under the Electronic Financial Transactions Act. CEO Lee said, "I understand the concerns customers have, but there is an excessive emphasis on the negative aspects," and "We will work to ensure there are no legal issues regarding online gift certificate usage in line with the financial authorities' guidelines."
Earlier, the financial authorities issued a consumer caution notice regarding the use of cultural gift certificates by the cultural gift certificate company on the 20th. The notice stated that while the cultural gift certificate company should be registered as a prepaid business, it has not registered and is operating, hence the obligation to protect prepaid funds under the Electronic Financial Transactions Act does not apply. This means that consumers may not be able to receive refunds for gift certificates if the company goes bankrupt or ceases operations. The cultural gift certificate company has filed a lawsuit at the Seoul Administrative Court, citing a difference in interpretation of the Electronic Financial Transactions Act with the financial authorities.