The government has decided to issue discount coupons that can be used for movies and exhibitions to stimulate domestic consumption, drawing interest in how to use them. This benefit is designed to be available multiple times to an individual, with a maximum of 4 to 5 times per person. The benefits will end once the budget is exhausted.

Graphic=Jeong Seo-hee

According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance on the 20th, the government has prepared a second supplementary budget of 30.5 trillion won and allocated 778 billion won for a discount coupon program aimed at stimulating consumption in five major sectors. The five major sectors include movie viewing, art exhibitions, performing arts, accommodations, and sports facilities.

The discount coupons will appear as pop-ups on reservation applications or ticket booking sites selected by the government. Consumers can use them when making payments. The usage period is yet to be determined. A Ministry of Economy and Finance official said, "We are discussing with relevant agencies whether to set the usage period to three months or until the end of the year to quickly promote consumption."

Moviegoers can receive discounts up to four times. In total, across all theaters including CGV, Lotte Cinema, and Megabox, the maximum is four times. The discount amount is 6,000 won per instance, and 4.5 million discount coupons will be issued this time. Once the quantity is exhausted, the benefits will end. Given that the monthly number of moviegoers this year ranged from 4 million to 8 million, it is expected that the movie discount coupons will be consumed quickly.

For art exhibitions and performing arts, an individual can receive discounts up to five times. The discount amount per instance is 3,000 won for art exhibitions and 10,000 won for performing arts. A total of 1.6 million art exhibition discount coupons and 500,000 performing arts coupons will be issued, with budgets of 4.9 billion won and 5.1 billion won, respectively.

The method of receiving discounts is more complex than for movies. Since an integrated computer network among companies has been established for movies, it's possible to track how many discounts a person has received, but there is no such system for art exhibitions and performing arts. Therefore, the government has selected five ticket booking sites and structured it so that discounts can only be received once per site.

Thus, to receive the five discount benefits, tickets must be purchased from different sites. The government plans to select five booking sites through a public invitation. Currently, the market share is largest for Interpark, Melon, Ticket Link, YES24, and Naver in that order. Popular music concerts and public dance performances, such as idol concerts, have been excluded from the target for performing arts discount coupons.

For accommodations, an individual can receive a discount only once. The discount amount is 30,000 won per night (20,000 won if under 70,000 won), with a total of 500,000 coupons issued. The budget allocated for this is 14.7 billion won. As this supplementary budget is made in response to weak consumption, only accommodation providers located in Korea will be included.

Discounts for sports facilities are available only to those aged 65 and above who receive the basic pension. Additionally, citizens can receive up to 50,000 points (equivalent to 50,000 won) annually by signing up on the 'National Physical Fitness 100' website and performing fitness assessments or exercises at 73 facilities. Accordingly, the maximum discount amount for seniors is also set at 50,000 won. A total of 700,000 coupons will be issued, with a budget of 26 billion won.

The timing of the issuance is undecided. This is because the government's supplementary budget must pass the National Assembly, and specific usage locations as well as affiliated apps and sites must be confirmed. The government plans to submit the supplementary budget proposal including this content to the National Assembly on the 23rd. In this regard, Lim Gi-geun, Second Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, noted, "I request that the National Assembly responds quickly to the voices of those yearning for economic stimulation and stability in livelihoods through prompt passage of the supplementary budget."