Gov't cracks down on illegal distribution of Onnuri gift certificates

[Anchor]

As it was revealed that a garlic store in Daegu exchanged hundreds of billions of won worth of Onnuri gift certificates, the government has investigated all franchise stores with large transaction volumes.

Most of the franchise stores under investigation have been confirmed to have engaged in illegal distribution of gift certificates.

Reporter Kim Jin-hee has the story.

[Report]

This is known as 'Onnuri-ggang', where gift certificates are purchased at a 5-10% discount and then exchanged at face value.

[Bank employee near traditional market/voice altered: "Since this is in front of the market, (merchants) buy up to the maximum limit at one time. It's somewhat different from individuals. We don't know the purpose of use..."]

When it was belatedly confirmed that a garlic store had engaged in Onnuri-ggang worth hundreds of millions for over six months, the government conducted a comprehensive investigation of franchise stores with monthly sales exceeding 500 million won.

As a result of the investigation, illegal distribution was confirmed in 13 out of 15 stores, leading to criminal complaints and administrative actions.

Additionally, about 430 more stores, including those with monthly sales exceeding 100 million won and those suspected of being 'wine sanctuaries', will be investigated.

The monitoring system for illegal distribution will also be significantly strengthened.

[KBS News9/Oct. 30: "However, as a result of KBS's investigation, it was confirmed that the system did not conduct proper monitoring."]

In relation to KBS's report that the Korea Financial Telecommunications and Clearings Institute only checked the abnormal transaction detection data once a year, it will now shorten the inspection cycle to once a month.

[Won Young-jun/Director of Small Business Policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups: "So far, there have been about 300 cases detected annually, but if we shorten this to a monthly basis, we expect the number of detections to increase significantly."]

New regulations will be established to recover unjust profits obtained through proxies or resale of Onnuri gift certificates.

The issuance of paper gift certificates, where most illegal distribution occurs, will be reduced, while the issuance of digital gift certificates will be increased.

The government plans to announce a comprehensive plan for Onnuri gift certificates, including these measures, by the end of the year.

This is KBS News, Kim Jin-hee.