[Anchor]
It is time for our Friendly Economy segment with reporter Han Jiyeon. Han, I understand a major discount event is kicking off this week?
[Reporter]
Starting tomorrow, October 29, the Korea Grand Festival will open with about 40,000 companies participating.
Discount rates for cars and home appliances will be unveiled on November 1.
People are hesitating to open their wallets these days, aren't they?
According to a Bank of Korea announcement released yesterday, the consumer sentiment index fell by 1.2 points in just a month.
This was driven by the stock market undergoing a correction in the middle of this month and growing instability in the Middle East.
To help ease this burden, a massive shopping event is being rolled out.
This government-led consumption festival combines discount programs previously run separately by different ministries, and it will run for 18 days until November 15.
If you are planning to buy a new car or home appliances, you should check the dates first.
Discounts from five domestic major automakers and major home appliance brands start this Sunday, November 1, so it is not too late to check the discount rates and make your purchase then.
For the first time, certified pre-owned cars inspected directly by manufacturers will also participate this year.
Large supermarkets will offer discounts of up to 50% or buy-one-get-one-free deals on meat, seasonal seafood, and household goods.
There are also ways to stack discounts on top of discounts.
Local currency gift certificates will feature an additional 5-percentage-point increase in discount rates.
In the capital area, the discount rate rises from 8% to 13%, meaning you can buy a 100,000-won gift certificate for 87,000 won.
In depopulated regions, the rate jumps from 12% to 17%.
Every time you spend 30,000 won using digital Onnuri gift certificates, you receive a lottery entry ticket.
A total of 1.7 billion won worth of gift certificates will be distributed to 5,600 people.
If you spend outside the capital area, you get two entry tickets for every 30,000 won spent, and the top prize of 30 million won will be drawn exclusively from tickets collected there.
[Anchor]
It looks like Hanwoo beef will also be sold at lower prices.
[Reporter]
You can buy a geun, which is 600 grams, of 1st-grade Hanwoo sirloin for around 50,000 won.
That is more than 20,000 won cheaper than usual.
November 1 is Hanwoo Day, named because the number 1 repeats three times, symbolizing the top quality of the beef.
As a side note, November 11, where the number 1 repeats four times, is Farmers' Day.
Ahead of Hanwoo Day, discount events will run from today through November 8 across 21 companies and about 1,800 locations.
The sale covers cuts such as sirloin, brisket, and soup beef, ranging from 1-plus grade down to grade 2.
Calculated per 100 grams, sirloin will be in the 8,000-won range, which is more than 30% cheaper than in mid-October.
In addition, soup beef for making seaweed soup will be available in the 3,000-won range per 100 grams.
However, timing your visit is crucial.
While online malls will mostly run their promotions from today through November 8, large supermarkets start tomorrow, with some ending on November 1, and others continuing until November 4.
Nonghyup Hanaro Marts will hold the sale for just two days, on October 31 and November 1.
Because event periods and available items may vary depending on inventory, there is an app called 'Yeogigogi'.
It is operated by the Korea Institute for Animal Products Quality Evaluation, and you can easily compare prices there.
Along with Hanwoo, in line with the kimchi-making season, seafood such as salted shrimp and dried seaweed will be discounted by up to 50% until the end of next month, and kimchi ingredients like napa cabbages and radishes will be marked down by up to 40% until early December.
[Anchor]
Lastly, postpartum care center costs were discussed in detail at the parliamentary audit.
[Reporter]
The critique is that one-third of the subsidies given for childbirth are going straight to postpartum care centers.
The base fees for postpartum care centers have surged by 39% over the past five years.
When a child is born, the government provides a childbirth subsidy of 2 million won for the first child.
Out of this amount, 675,000 won is being absorbed directly by care centers.
The average base fee rose from 2.76 million won in 2020 to 3.84 million won last year.
Base fees are not the only issue.
Additional services are also a major problem.
Some centers reportedly engage in de facto bundle-selling practices, claiming there are no available rooms unless customers purchase a 1.94 million-won massage package.
Complaints filed with the Korea Consumer Agency have doubled within a year, rising from 38 to 77 cases.
Looking into a recent batch of 183 cases, about half involved contract cancellations and cancellation fees.
In one case, even though a reservation was canceled due to circumstances on the center's end, they deducted 150,000 won for prenatal massages from the 1.3 million-won deposit and refunded only 1.15 million won.
Critics have also pointed out that while the Ministry of Health and Welfare inspects prices twice a year, it only checks regular and VIP room rates while ignoring the costs of these extra services.
The Minister of Health and Welfare stated that the ministry will investigate and disclose additional service fees and review methods for price regulation.
Since care centers are legally required to separately disclose base fees, additional charges, and refund policies, you should review these details carefully when signing a contract.
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