A man who had bought lottery tickets every week won the top prize of 500 million won ($360,000) on an instant scratch ticket, the operator said.
The first-prize winner of the 108th round of Speetto 1000 emerged recently at a lottery retailer in Sangnok District, Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, according to Dong Haeng Lottery on the 8th.
The winner, identified only as A, had been meaning to buy tickets during the summer holiday season but kept putting it off. He spotted a lottery shop on his way to a hospital and bought Lotto and Speetto tickets as usual.
Several days later he remembered the tickets and began scratching them one by one. The first several came up empty, but he said something felt different as he scratched the eighth ticket.
"I had an odd feeling for a moment, and then I saw that I had won first prize," he said. "I couldn't believe it. I never thought this kind of luck would come to me, so it didn't sink in for a while."
He immediately called his wife to share the moment. She was also surprised and celebrated with him, the operator said.
Asked how he plans to use the money, he said: "The prize money has given me a little financial breathing room, so I want to pay off my loans and then enjoy hobbies I've put off and spend good time with my family."
In a handwritten note describing how he felt, he wrote that he was deeply grateful for such good fortune and pledged to "live a blessed life."
Speetto 1000 is a printed instant lottery ticket that players scratch with a coin or similar object to see immediately whether they have won. The top prize is 500 million won.
