President Lee Jae Myung (center) on June 19 declares the opening of a Cabinet meeting at the Office of the President in Seoul's Yongsan-gu District. (Yonhap News)

By Kim Hyelin

Consumption coupons worth between KRW 150,000 and KRW 500,000 will seek to stimulate domestic spending and stabilize the people's livelihood using a budget of KRW 10.3 trillion.

The value of a coupon will depend on income level. Those in the top 10% (5.12 million people) will get KRW 150,000; the public (45.96 million) KRW 250,000; lower middle income class (380,000) KRW 400,000; and basic welfare recipients (2.71 million) KRW 500,000.

A Cabinet meeting chaired by President Lee Jae Myung at the Office of the President in Seoul's Yongsan-gu Office on June 19 passed a bill on a supplementary budget for this year containing this content. This is the second round of such funds this year and the first under the Lee administration.

The coupons will come in the forms of regional gift certificates and prepaid, credit or check cards but not cash. A forthcoming government task force of officials from related government ministries will decide on implementation details such as provision period, recipients and where the vouchers can be used.

The value of the regional vouchers will also rise. The supplementary budget this time will reach KRW 600 billion, up from KRW 400 billion in the first round, and the scale of such benefits this year will reach a record-high KRW 29 trillion.

The supplementary budget bill on June 23 will be sent to the National Assembly for deliberation.

kimhyelin211@korea.kr