Applications for the second round of a government voucher scheme offering cash handouts to the public began Monday in an effort to stimulate private consumption.
Under the scheme, about 90 percent of all citizens will be eligible for the handouts, worth 100,000 won ($72) per person in the form of "consumption coupons," with applications beginning at 9 a.m. and ending Oct. 31.
Unlike the first-round handouts offered to all citizens, households with high incomes and those that had a property tax base of more than 1.2 billion won or financial income of over 20 million won last year will not be eligible.
Foreigners are in principle excluded from the program, permanent residents, marriage immigrants and recognized refugees who are covered by the state health insurance are also eligible for the handouts.
Applicants can check whether they are eligible for the scheme through their credit card companies or local community centers.
People can choose to receive the payment through one of several methods: credit or debit cards, prepaid cards or local government-issued gift certificates.
To prevent overloading online servers and congestion of community centers, applications this week will be accepted on designated days for each individual, depending on the last digit of one's birth year.
Applications for digits 1 and 6 can be made Monday, digits 2 and 7 on Tuesday, digits 3 and 8 on Wednesday, digits 4 and 9 on Thursday, and digits 5 and 0 on Friday.
They cannot be used at large supermarkets and department stores, among other locations.
Both the first and second rounds of handouts can be used until Nov. 30, with the remaining balance to automatically expire afterward.
A total of 50.08 million people, 99 percent of the Korean population, applied for the first-round handouts, amounting to a total of 9.06 trillion won. (Yonhap)
