Seoul: Another round of a voucher scheme offering cash handouts to 90 percent of citizens will be implemented later this month, officials announced Friday, as part of efforts to stimulate private consumption. Under this initiative, eligible citizens will receive handouts valued at 100,000 won (US$72) in the form of “consumption coupons,” with the application period running from September 22 to October 31.

According to Yonhap News Agency, this move follows the first round of handouts, which provided 150,000 won to all citizens and is set to conclude its application phase on Friday after starting on July 12. However, the latest scheme excludes high-income households with a property tax base of 1.2 billion won or more last year and those with financial income exceeding 20 million won. Employed workers in single-person households earning more than 75 million won annually will also not qualify for the handouts.

Interior Minister Yun Ho-jung expressed hope that the positive domestic consumption environment fostered by the initial round of livelihood recovery consumption coupons will be further enhanced with this second distribution.