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A sign reading “Livelihood Recovery Coupons Accepted Here” is posted at a store in Jongno District, Seoul, on July 20. / Photo by Park Sung-il

Starting July 21, South Korea will begin accepting applications for the first round of “Livelihood Recovery Coupons,” the Lee Jae-myung administration’s first major economic stimulus program aimed at boosting domestic consumption.

According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the application window will remain open for about eight weeks, from 9 a.m. on July 21 until 6 p.m. on September 12. Applications can be made both online and offline.

Each citizen is eligible for a base amount of 150,000 won. Recipients from lower-income brackets will receive more: 300,000 won for individuals in the second-lowest income tier or single-parent households, and 400,000 won for basic welfare recipients. Additionally, residents outside the Seoul metropolitan area will receive an extra 30,000 won, and residents in rural or depopulated farming and fishing areas will receive an additional 50,000 won. The coupons will be issued the day after application and must be used by November 30.

A ministry official stressed that “applications are required,” and the coupons will only be issued to those who apply during the designated period.

To prevent system overload and crowding at local offices, a staggered weekday application schedule will be enforced during the first week (July 21–25), based on the last digit of one’s birth year:

• Monday (1, 6)

• Tuesday (2, 7)

• Wednesday (3, 8)

• Thursday (4, 9)

• Friday (5, 0)

• On weekends, applications can only be made online.

Applicants can choose to receive the coupons via credit/debit card, prepaid card, or local government-issued gift certificates. For those opting for credit/debit cards, applications can be made online through the websites, apps, or call centers of one of nine affiliated card companies—including KB Kookmin Card, Lotte Card, and Samsung Card—or in person at associated bank branches.

However, the coupons are not valid everywhere. They cannot be used at large supermarkets, corporate-run grocery stores, department stores, duty-free shops, online malls, delivery apps, entertainment venues, gambling businesses, or any establishments with high cash-conversion potential. In principle, delivery apps are excluded, but face-to-face card payments using the store’s own terminal are allowed.

Coupon use is geographically restricted. Residents of metropolitan cities can use the coupons only within their respective city boundaries, while those in provincial areas must use them within their registered city or county.

A second round of applications—providing an additional 100,000 won to the bottom 90% of income earners—will open on September 22.