The people's livelihood recovery consumption coupons have been in use for 21 days, marking a month. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the responsible agency, is receiving a series of related complaints. Among the complaints, there is a request saying, "Please do not allow consumption coupons to be used at our establishment." It is reported that the establishment that submitted this complaint is Company A, a skincare business located in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul.
◇ "This is a place for madams…" Image impact on stores eligible for consumption coupons
What reasons did Company A have for opposing the opportunity to attract customers? Company A has been promoting itself as a 'high-end (top quality) brand' and 'a place where many Gangnam madams visit' to attract consumers. They intended to be perceived as a premium store rather than a regular skincare business.
However, Company A has been included in the list of establishments eligible to use the consumption coupons. It is said to be a store with annual sales under 3 billion won. Therefore, Company A submitted a complaint stating that if it is revealed that their sales are not as large as expected, it could impact their image. It is also said that there are other establishments that have requested exclusion for similar reasons.
A Ministry of the Interior and Safety official noted, "Entertainment businesses and those with annual sales exceeding 3 billion won can be excluded from the consumption coupon program based on principles," adding that, "We cannot exclude specific enterprises solely for reasons like negative image impact."
◇ Hair salons, coffee shops, and hagwons say, 'If you pay in advance, we will give you more discounts.'
On the other hand, there are many stores that request, "Please use the consumption coupons in full at our establishment for advance payments." As of 0:00 on the 8th, 95.2% of the eligible recipients have received the consumption coupons. The total amount disbursed is 8.7232 trillion won. More than half was spent on 'food items' such as public restaurants, supermarkets, and groceries. This was followed by usage in convenience stores, hospitals and pharmacies, clothing and miscellaneous goods, hagwons, and leisure.
Establishments that mainly operate membership systems, like hair salons and gyms, are encouraging consumers to use advance payment methods. A hair salon B in Seoul is promoting that if customers pay their memberships in advance during the coupon distribution period, they will provide more credits than usual, thereby granting more discounts. A company employee who frequents this salon, Ms. Song (41), said, "I usually recharge 500,000 won at once, but this time, upon suggestion, I recharged 750,000 won" and noted, "I spent all of my consumption coupons in one day at this place."
This situation is the same for restaurants, cafes, hagwons, and even indoor golf practice ranges. A cafe C in Seoul commented, "We are offering discounts to those who make advance payments in units of tens of thousands of won," and added, "We think this is a rare opportunity to increase sales." A 40-year-old father with a child in elementary school mentioned, "It just so happens that the hagwon my child attends is eligible for consumption coupons," stating, "Since educational expenses for my child are a fixed monthly expense, I was able to reduce the burden this month with the consumption coupons." There are also indoor golf practice ranges that offer special prices if the coupons are used.
Meanwhile, the government plans to start the second distribution of consumption coupons on Sept. 22. During this time, 100,000 won will be given to all citizens except the top 10% by income level. Detailed income criteria are expected to be announced in early next month. Previously, during the first distribution on July, every citizen received between 150,000 won and 400,000 won. The government plans to recover any unused balance of consumption coupons by the end of November.