UIJEONGBU — The city of Uijeongbu in Gyeonggi Province said on the 2nd that it will raise the charging cap and incentive rate on its local currency card, the Uijeongbu Love Card, starting on the 4th of this month.
The monthly purchase cap rises to 300,000 won from 250,000 won, and the incentive rate increases to 10% from 8%. A resident who charges and spends the full 300,000 won a month can receive up to 30,000 won in incentives.
The measure was confirmed after the city council passed a third supplementary budget that includes funding to support local currency issuance. The supplementary budget covers 800 million won in issuance support funds matched by the central government, the province and the city, along with 819 million won in city-funded spending.
The city-funded portion was cut once during line-item adjustments at the standing committee. It was later restored to the final budget after the special committee on budget and accounts discussed the need to expand the local currency program and its benefits for residents and small business owners.
With the incentive rate held at 10%, the city projected that the number of beneficiaries will rise about 1.2 times from the previous month. The supplementary budget expands local currency issuance by 21.3 billion won. Adding 518 million won separately secured from the central government and the province, annual issuance of the Uijeongbu Love Card is expected to reach 50.8 billion won this year.
The city said greater use of the local currency would ease residents' living costs and lift local spending, helping small business owners and neighborhood commercial districts recover sales.
"I am grateful to the city council for recognizing the need for a livelihood budget that provides real help to residents and small business owners even under difficult fiscal conditions," Uijeongbu Mayor Kim Won-ki said. "We will prepare so that residents can enjoy the expanded benefits without disruption from the 4th."
Kim signed off on expanding issuance of the Uijeongbu Love Card as the first approval of his term, and the city drafted a budget aimed at a 400,000-won cap and submitted it to the council. The council, however, kept the total budget unchanged and passed the supplementary bill with the cap reduced to 300,000 won.
