South Korea’s Ministry of SMEs and Startups has issued a formal notice proposing to remove specified merchants from the Onnuri gift-voucher network. The notice, dated October 2, sets October 23 as the planned deregistration date. [S01]
The action covers merchants whose registration is due to expire on October 18, businesses that have reported closure, and businesses whose registration has been cancelled. Merchants with expiring Onnuri registrations are excluded from removal if they submitted renewal applications within the application period. [S01]
Gift Card News counted 65,173 distinct merchant codes in the spreadsheet accompanying the notice when reviewed on October 11. The file labels 52,632 entries as registration expiry and 12,541 as business closure. Those figures describe the attached proposed list, not a confirmed number of completed removals. [S02]
Reasons listed for proposed Onnuri merchant removal
Distinct merchant codes counted in the official attached spreadsheet.
merchant codes
Tap or hover for details. All values are also available in the data table.
Source
Proposed list, not completed removals. Timely renewal applicants are excluded from expiry-based removal. The October18 download matches the October11 file; counts do not measure customer balances or spending.
Show data tableHide data table
| Category | Listed merchant codes |
|---|---|
| Registration expiry | 52,632 merchant codes |
| Business closure | 12,541 merchant codes |
The notice allows objections through October 22. It says the ministry will treat a failure to submit an opinion within that period as no objection and proceed with deregistration for the relevant targets. [S01]
The renewal requirement predates this notice. In an August update, the ministry said about 147,000 Onnuri merchant registrations were due to expire on October 18 under a three-year registration system. That update described online and offline renewal channels, simplified documentation and additional support staff. [S03]
The October notice moves that process to a named list of merchants proposed for removal. For the voucher network, the relevant change is participating-merchant registration status. It does not report expired customer balances, a completed reduction in the network, or a change to voucher face values.
In this article
Suzie Elis
Suzie Elis covers gift card products, digital gifting and distribution for Gift Card News.