South Korean Wins KRW 5.8 Billion Lottery While Working in Vietnam: "Checked the Numbers Several Times"

South Korean Engineer at Foreign-Invested Firm in Vietnam
Record-High Lottery Payout Ever Received by a Foreigner
Donates Approximately VND 1.5 Billion to Social Contribution Fund

A South Korean national currently working in Vietnam has won the first prize in the Vietnamese state lottery.

Mr. K, a Korean who set a new record for the highest amount won by a foreigner among Vietnam lottery winners. Captured from VN Express.

According to VN Express on July 21, Vietlott, the Vietnamese state-owned lottery operator, recently awarded Mr. K, a South Korean employed at a foreign-invested company in Bac Ninh Province in northern Vietnam, the first prize for the 'Power 6/55' lottery, amounting to VND 102.8 billion (approximately KRW 5.788 billion). This is the highest amount ever awarded to a foreign national in the history of the Vietnamese lottery.

Mr. K purchased the winning numbers '09·17·20·33·41·42' at a lottery seller located on Nguyen Dang Dao Street in Bac Ninh Province. He won the first prize in the draw held on July 11, 2026. According to Vietlott, the odds of winning the first prize in Power 6/55 are about one in 28.9 million.

About five years ago, Mr. K first encountered computerized lottery tickets in Vietnam. As the purchasing method was similar to South Korea’s, he reportedly bought 20 to 30 tickets per draw, twice a week. When the cumulative prize pool increased, he would purchase up to 50 tickets at once.

Mr. K shared his reaction: "I was so shocked at first that I couldn't believe it," he said, adding, "I checked my lottery numbers several times until I was sure I had won the jackpot."

After deducting VND 10.28 billion in personal income tax, Mr. K actually received over VND 92.5 billion (about KRW 5.2 billion). He is also known to have donated about VND 1.5 billion (approximately KRW 84 million) to a social contribution fund as a gesture of gratitude.

According to Vietlott, this is the fourth time a foreign national has won the first prize in either the Mega 6/45 or Power 6/55 lotteries. Previously, three foreigners—two South Koreans and one Chinese—had won first prizes. The previous highest win was VND 32.6 billion in 2025 (about KRW 1.8 billion at the current exchange rate), when a South Korean living in Ho Chi Minh City took first prize, generating significant attention at home and abroad.

Power 6/55, along with Mega 6/45, is one of Vietlott's flagship businesses; in this Vietnamese version of the lotto, players have to match six out of 55 numbers. The odds of winning first prize are one in 28,299,675, making it approximately 3.6 times less likely to win than South Korea’s Donghaeng Lotto. Vietlott is a state-owned company under the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance and currently has over 6,100 retailers in 34 provinces and cities.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.