KRW 400 Million in Cashback Generates KRW 12.1 Billion in Alley Spending... Seo-gu's Golmok Pay "Sellout Streak"

Budget exhausted within four days each week... Event ended early for four consecutive weeks
"Weekend spending on everyday needs concentrated... Potential to revitalize the alley economy confirmed"

The Golmok Pay cashback event in Seo-gu, Jeonnam-Gwangju, ended early for the fourth consecutive week, with its allocated budget exhausted just four days after each week's event began.

Seo-gu said on November 3 that it had used up the entire KRW 400 million budget for its second-half 2026 Golmok Pay cashback event, held from October 2 to 29. A total of 117,392 people received cashback, including repeat participants across different rounds, and related transactions totaled approximately KRW 12.1 billion.

Kim Igang, head of Seo-gu District in Jeonnam-Gwangju, personally took part in the Golmok Pay cashback event, continuing his efforts to revitalize the local economy. Photo provided by the Seo-gu District Office.

The Golmok Pay cashback event offers a 5% refund on purchases made with digital Onnuri gift certificates at participating merchants in Seo-gu. The cashback limit is KRW 10,000 per person per round. The budget, set at KRW 100 million per week, was fully exhausted within four days of the start of each week's event.

Spending peaked on the first day of each event and on weekends.

On October 2, the first day of the first round, purchases totaled approximately KRW 1.2 billion, the highest figure for that round. In the second and third rounds, Saturday purchases were the highest, at approximately KRW 980 million and KRW 1.05 billion, respectively. In the fourth round, purchases on Saturday, October 24, also reached a peak of approximately KRW 980 million.

This spending pattern shows that the cashback benefit was used in connection with weekend spending on everyday needs, such as dining out and grocery shopping. The fact that a new cashback opportunity was offered every week also encouraged consumers to participate repeatedly.

During the four weeks of the event, total purchases made with digital Onnuri gift certificates in Seo-gu amounted to approximately KRW 23.2 billion.

The KRW 12.1 billion in transactions related to the cashback event was more than 30 times the KRW 400 million budget. Earlier this year, Seo-gu also allocated KRW 1.4 billion to cashback over a three-month period, during which related spending totaled KRW 41 billion.

This consumer-boosting policy is underpinned by the expansion of designated alley shopping districts. Last year, Seo-gu became the first local government in the country to designate 126 areas across all 18 of its neighborhoods as alley shopping districts. This made it possible to use Onnuri gift certificates not only at traditional markets but also at neighborhood businesses, including restaurants, cafes, local supermarkets, and gas stations.

Seo-gu District Chief Kim Yi-gang said, "This event combined consumer-boosting measures with the alley shopping district model and served as an opportunity to confirm the potential for revitalizing the alley economy."

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