Incheon to Resume 'I-Um Card' Cash Back for Chuseok with Doubled Limit

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The Incheon Metropolitan Government has decided to resume cash-back rewards for the city's local currency, which had been suspended due to depleted budgets, ahead of the Chuseok holiday. Users will receive 10 percent of their spending back, and the usage limit will be doubled during the Chuseok holiday period.

Reporter Song In-ho has the details.

[Reporter]

This is a traditional market in Incheon.

Since cash-back rewards for Incheon's local currency, the I-Um Card, were abruptly suspended in mid-July, merchants have taken a direct hit.

[Park Young-su / Merchant at Incheon Moraenae Market: In the past, customers always handed over the I-Um Card when paying. From the customers' perspective, since there's no cash back anymore, there's no reason to use it. It seems the number of customers has decreased compared to before.]

The burden of living expenses has also grown heavier for elderly couples with no income after retirement.

[Choi Young-ja / Namdong-gu, Incheon: If you spend 300,000 won a month on that (the I-Um Card), you get 30,000 won back. For people like us with no income, that's quite helpful, but since they stopped doing it, we just try to economize as much as possible.]

Following the June 3 local elections, the 9th popular city administration will resume the I-Um Card cash-back benefit starting September 21, having previously suspended it due to budget exhaustion.

To ease citizens' living expenses and revive sluggish local commercial districts, Incheon City adjusted non-urgent large-scale investment projects and instead allocated 77.9 billion won in cash-back funding for the I-Um Card in its second supplementary budget proposal.

The cash-back rate for Incheon I-Um remains at 10 percent of the amount spent, but the limit will be doubled during the Chuseok holiday period.

[Park Chan-dae / Mayor of Incheon: We will return 10 percent of the amount spent at neighborhood shops, up to a monthly limit of 500,000 won, through the end of the year. For the ten-day period until the end of September, we will double the cash-back limit to 1 million won.]

Incheon City's second supplementary budget proposal includes various livelihood projects such as childbirth support, youth rent subsidies, and public transportation financial support. These measures are scheduled to take effect immediately following review and approval by the city council next month.

(Video by Lim Dong-guk | Video Editing by Choi Hye-ran | Courtesy of Incheon Metropolitan Government)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.