Korea Post announced three additional regional voucher cards on October 12, 2026: Gumi on October 12, Gwangyang on October 13 and Gongju scheduled for October 26. Customers can bring identification to a nearby post office for help obtaining a card and loading voucher value. The operator presents this assisted route as particularly useful for older people less comfortable with mobile apps. [S01][S06]
The release also lists the postal banking website, smart banking, chak, Gumi Sarang Card and Gongju Pay apps, without assigning every channel to an individual city. If voucher funds are insufficient, the cards can switch to ordinary debit payment within the linked postal account balance. That is bank-account spending, not additional voucher credit; the announcement does not promise voucher benefits on those ordinary debit transactions. [S01]
Gumi: a new access route still depends on available allocation
The Gumi programme’s current annual schedule sets a monthly purchase ceiling of KRW400,000 for September through December and a card balance ceiling of KRW1.5 million. It shows a 10% discount for October, but the city’s October notice, checked on October 19, says discounted sales have ended because the budget was exhausted. Issuing a postal card therefore does not establish that subsidised top-ups remain available. [S02][S03]
Gumi’s published 2026 monthly purchase ceilings
The municipal schedule varies the maximum subsidised purchase by month; it does not measure actual purchases.
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Current version viewed October 19, 2026. The notice was originally registered February 5, but its attachment is a current schedule and has no separate revision date. November and December are prospective. Budget and sales conditions can change the plan; the October discounted allocation is already marked exhausted.
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| Category | Monthly purchase ceiling per person |
|---|---|
| Jan | 600,000 KRW |
| Feb | 600,000 KRW |
| Mar | 600,000 KRW |
| Apr | 500,000 KRW |
| May | 300,000 KRW |
| Jun | 300,000 KRW |
| Jul | 300,000 KRW |
| Aug | 300,000 KRW |
| Sep | 400,000 KRW |
| Oct | 400,000 KRW |
| Nov (planned) | 400,000 KRW |
| Dec (planned) | 400,000 KRW |
The monthly ceiling is distinct from the maximum stored balance. The annual schedule also lists paper and card sales in February and September, with card sales in the other months. Its warning that plans can change with budget and sales conditions is material to the new distribution channel. [S02]
Gwangyang: merchant cashback has a separate condition
Gwangyang’s October 14 announcement specifies a 12% base voucher discount in October and 10% in November and December. From October 13 through December 31, eligible voucher payments at registered Good Price businesses earn another 5% cashback. The city describes the combined benefit as up to 17% in October and 15% in the following two months. [S04]
Gwangyang’s announced base discount and conditional cashback
The extra cashback applies to eligible voucher payments, while the base discount applies when buying voucher value.
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The two rates have different transaction bases and are shown separately. They are not a compounded cash-return calculation or a benefit on ordinary bank-account debit payments. The extra scheme can close early if its budget is exhausted.
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| Category | Base voucher purchase discount | Extra cashback at eligible Good Price merchants |
|---|---|---|
| October 2026 | 12 percent | 5 percent |
| November 2026 (planned) | 10 percent | 5 percent |
| December 2026 (planned) | 10 percent | 5 percent |
Of the 79 Good Price businesses certified at the end of September, 76 were registered voucher merchants and qualified for the extra cashback. The city directs customers to chak to check voucher acceptance and says the nationally funded cashback scheme may close before December 31 if its budget runs out. These are merchant eligibility and funding limits, not evidence of increased sales following the postal launch. [S04]
Gongju: September’s temporary ceiling is historical context
Gongju’s postal card was still scheduled for October 26 in the announcement. The city’s latest located voucher-limit release, dated September 1, explains why an earlier promotional ceiling should not be assumed to apply at that launch: it raised the monthly loading limit from KRW700,000 in July and August to KRW1 million for September only. [S01][S05]
Gongju Pay loading limits in the September announcement
The city reported the July-August operating ceiling and the temporary September increase.
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Historical programme terms, not verified October postal-card limits. The September notice also kept 12% cashback and a KRW1.5 million holding limit for that period; it does not extend the September promotion into October.
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| Category | Monthly loading limit per person |
|---|---|
| July 2026 | 700,000 KRW |
| August 2026 | 700,000 KRW |
| September 2026 only | 1,000,000 KRW |
The September notice kept the individual holding limit at KRW1.5 million and the cashback rate at 12% for that month. Korea Post’s October announcement supplies no replacement rate or cap. Its expected gains in local consumption and small-business sales remain stated objectives: neither the launch release nor these municipal schedules reports realised results attributable to the new postal cards. [S01][S05]
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Suzie Elis
Suzie Elis covers gift card products, digital gifting and distribution for Gift Card News.