Koo Yun-cheol, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, visited the venue of the "Korea Grand Festival" held in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 2nd and said, "We will step up policy efforts to boost domestic demand."
Minister Han Seong-sook of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups also joined the visit that day. The two looked around the "Everyone's Companion" sales booths with small business owners, checked out products such as coffee, handicrafts, clothing, and perfume, and listened to on-site difficulties.
The Korea Grand Festival is a large-scale consumer festival held for 12 days from the 29th of last month to the 9th at online and offline stores nationwide, prepared by the government to spread the recovery in private consumption across the broader economy.
Deputy Prime Minister Koo said, "With sentiment recovering, consumption coupons, and stock market vitality, private consumption increased by the largest margin in three years, leading the third-quarter growth rate (1.2%)," and added, "As the recovery trend has been clear since the launch of the new administration, we will accelerate policies to stimulate domestic demand to sustain growth momentum."
He went on, "Each person's spending helps revive Korea's economy and gives great strength to small merchants, so please actively take part in the consumer festival," and added, "We will listen carefully to voices on the ground and refine measures for people's livelihoods so they function properly."
Minister Han, who accompanied the event, said, "The Korea Grand Festival is not a simple sales event but a meaningful occasion that can ignite a spark for regional economic recovery," and added, "We hope the public will join in spending that brings hope."
Visitors to the venue were also introduced to the government's incentives to spur consumption, including an additional 5 percentage points (p) discount on local love gift certificates, a special refund of 5–15%p for Digital Onnuri gift certificates, prize events for the Win-Win Consumption Lottery, and Win-Win Payback.