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Seoul Love Gift Certificates, which can be purchased for 100,000 won for 93,000 won, were sold out in an instant a few days ago.

There were many people who couldn't buy because they couldn't connect.

In this way, the popularity of currencies and gift certificates is soaring not only in Seoul but also in each region, and the government has decided to significantly reduce this budget next year.



Reporter Jang Hoon-kyung reports.



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36-year-old Kwon Oh-chung likes to use local love gift certificates.



That's because he's got a 10% discount, so it's economically advantageous.



He tried to buy a new Seoul Love gift certificate last Thursday, but failed.



[Kwon Oh-chung / Seodaemun-gu, Seoul: I failed in the end, and yesterday (last 14 days) at Mom's Cafe, there was also a recipe for success, and I used a lot (Local Love Gift Certificate) and used a lot for school expenses.]



Seoul Love Gift Certificate 7% You can spend 100,000 won by paying 93,000 won through a discount sale.



It was expected that about 65,000 people, worth 25 billion won, would buy it, but in an instant, close to 200,000 people flocked to the app and the app stopped working, and in the end, most of them were unable to purchase.



The popularity is soaring, but the government is planning to drastically cut the budget for this local love gift certificate next year.



This is because of the policy to reduce various financial projects that involve government money.



In addition, the research result of the Institute of Taxation and Finance is also based on the fact that local currency does not reach the level of revitalizing the local economy by increasing actual consumption.



[Chu Kyung-ho / Deputy Prime Minister of Economy (2020): There are many cash-spreading financial addiction projects.

As the main problem project, even though the national research institute (Tax and Finance Research Institute) pointed out that it was not effective, the (progress) issuance of gift vouchers for local love.]



However, there are complaints that it is taking away benefits from the point of view of ordinary people who are not happy with a penny amid soaring prices.



The government plans to finalize next year's budget around the end of next month, but if the related budget is actually reduced, the issuance of gift certificates is expected to decrease considerably, except for Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, where their households are strong.



(Video coverage: Park Dae-young and Seol Seol-hwan, video editing: Kim Ho-jin, VJ: Jeong Young-sam)