Yoon Ho-jung, Minister of the Interior and Safety, said the regional love gift certificate (regional currency), a flagship policy project of the Lee Jae-myung administration, "contributed to boosting domestic demand." A day earlier, the People Power Party had criticized next year's budget plan, which includes expanding support for regional love gift certificates, as a "populist budget."
The Minister said at a press briefing at Government Complex Seoul on the 5th, "Regional love gift certificates were issued in large amounts and contributed to revitalizing domestic demand," adding, "They not only revive domestic demand but also, through domestic demand, helped small business owners and the self-employed."
He said, "I hear Coupang posted more than 12 trillion won in sales in the third quarter, which means it virtually swept up most of the profit in retail distribution," adding, "Regional love gift certificates are playing a role in pulling domestic demand that goes online back offline. Considering changes in distribution structures, it is one of the very important policy tools."
The Minister said, "According to one study, expenditure equivalent to about 130% of the face value (issuance scale) of regional love gift certificates is being made. It is a policy that brings a 30% increase in domestic demand," adding, "If opposition lawmakers are aware of this, it would be hard for them to oppose it."