Incheon e-Eum Cashback to Be Suspended Starting July 16 Due to Budget Depletion

Cashback payments for Incheon e-Eum, a local currency introduced by Incheon City to revitalize the local economy, will be temporarily suspended starting July 16.

Incheon Mayor Park Chan-dae held a press conference at the City Hall briefing room today (July 10) and announced that the budget for Incheon e-Eum has been exhausted in just six months, necessitating a temporary suspension of cashback payments starting next week.

Mayor Park explained the background of the suspension, stating, "Although this year's budget for Incheon e-Eum was set at 258.1 billion won, an increase of approximately 100 billion won from last year, the budget is expected to be fully depleted by the middle of next week due to hastily prepared policies implemented just before the local elections."

He added, "With the currently secured budget, there are no funds available for cashback payments from mid-July through the end of the year, making it unavoidable to temporarily suspend all cashback services once the budget is exhausted."

During the June 3 local election campaign, Mayor Park had pledged an "Emergency 100-Day Project for Public Livelihood Recovery," which included expanding cashback for Incheon e-Eum immediately after taking office to help revive the struggling local economy.

"It is more important than anything else to accurately grasp the state of public finances and execute them responsibly," Mayor Park said. "I ask for the citizens' understanding, as this is an inevitable measure to set the finances straight and operate Incheon e-Eum in a stable manner."

(Photo: Screenshot of Incheon e-Eum application, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.