Samsung Appreciation Festival held online and offline; customers receive digital Onuri gift vouchers worth 20% of purchase; company reviewing additional ways to share business results with society

Samsung Electronics is moving to fulfill its pledge to share the fruits of its growth with the public.

The company said Monday it will hold the "Together with the People — Samsung Electronics Appreciation Festival" for four weeks starting Monday at more than 1,000 stores nationwide, both online and offline.

The festival is part of a concrete action plan to deliver on Samsung Electronics' promise to expand social contributions by 5 trillion won (approximately $3.24 billion).

Immediately after reaching a labor-management agreement on May 27, Samsung Electronics said it would "ensure that Samsung's growth and achievements create a virtuous cycle that benefits not only our employees but also society at large," pledging to raise 5 trillion won over the next five years and invest it in "building a mutually beneficial and healthy ecosystem" and "nurturing future talent."

Samsung Electronics is reviewing additional measures — in consultation with its board of directors and compliance committee — to channel the company's business results into broader social contributions.

All customers who purchase Samsung Electronics products during the event period will receive digital Onuri gift vouchers worth 20 percent of their purchase amount. Samsung Electronics expanded the event beyond its own directly operated stores to a wide range of retail channels so that more people can benefit.

Participating locations include more than 400 Samsung stores nationwide, consumer electronics chains such as Electronic Land and Hi-Mart, hypermarkets including E-mart, Homeplus and Costco, and Samsung Electronics counters inside department stores.

The same benefit is also available through major domestic online shopping platforms, including Samsung.com, the Samsung Electronics business mall, Naver Shopping, Coupang Inc, G-market and 11Street.

For mobile products such as smartphones and tablets, customers who purchase a device together with a service plan at a carrier store — SK Telecom, KT Corp or LG Uplus — are also eligible for the promotion.

In honor of the month dedicated to national defense and patriotism, Samsung Electronics is offering uniformed civil servants — including military personnel, police officers, firefighters and correctional officers — an additional 10 percent discount on top of the standard benefit, for a total of 30 percent. Uniformed civil servants can make purchases through a dedicated page within the "Samsung Electronics Family Mall."

Customers who buy products at any participating online or offline location can apply for their digital Onuri gift vouchers through Samsung.com until Sept. 30. Those who purchased a smartphone or tablet through a mobile carrier can apply via the Samsung.com app on the device they bought.

To apply, customers must enter purchase details such as the retailer and order number, and submit supporting documents including a photo of the product nameplate, a transaction statement and a receipt. For devices activated through a mobile carrier, the application is complete once the customer enters the carrier name and activation date after making their first call.

Digital Onuri gift vouchers will be issued sequentially to applicants' "Digital Onuri" apps, in the applicants' names, approximately two weeks after the application is processed.

Onuri gift vouchers were introduced in 2009 to revitalize traditional markets. Their accepted locations have since expanded to include convenience stores and neighborhood restaurants, establishing them as an everyday currency used by people across the country.

Issued by the Small Enterprise and Market Service, Onuri gift vouchers are used by consumers at traditional markets and small business shops, and have been shown to contribute to local economies and domestic consumption.

According to data on the "sales effect of Onuri gift voucher membership" released by the agency in March, sales at stores enrolled in the Onuri gift voucher payment network rose about 4 percent immediately after joining. The sales boost grew over time — 5.0 percent in the first year of membership, 9.2 percent in the second year and 12.2 percent in the third year — and was significant across both traditional markets and local small business stores.


gil@heraldcorp.com