The winner of a first-prize Lotto jackpot worth 3.05163 billion won has reportedly not come forward. The redemption deadline for the ticket drawn on Nov. 9 is only about 40 days away.
According to Donghaeng Lottery, the lottery operator, on the 29th, one of the nine winners of the 1st prize in the 1,145th Lotto drawn on Nov. 9 last year has yet to claim the prize. The prize amounts to 3.05163 billion won.
The payment deadline is one year from the draw date, and if it is not claimed by Nov. 10, the prize will expire and will not be paid to the individual. It will then be reverted to the lottery fund and used for various public projects such as housing support for low-income earners, scholarship programs, and cultural heritage protection.
The winning ticket was purchased automatically at the "Hana Lottery" outlet on Guwol-ro in Namdong District, Incheon. The winning numbers are "2, 11, 31, 33, 37, 44." The second-prize payout of about 72.65 million won from the same draw also remains unclaimed. That ticket was sold in North Gyeongsang Province.
It is common for Lotto prizes to go unclaimed and be reverted to the lottery fund. Over the past five years (2020–2024), unclaimed Lotto prizes totaled 3,076,000 cases and 228.3 billion won. The largest number of unclaimed prizes occurs in the 5th-prize tier (5,000 won), amounting to 150.7 billion won.