Yeominjeon (Sejong)

Municipal Local Currency·active·South Korea

Yeominjeon is the local currency of Sejong, South Korea. The city issues it as a rechargeable card with a mobile app. Users get a cashback bonus when they spend it at registered small businesses in Sejong. It launched in March 2020 and has about 226,000 subscribers. Cumulative issuance passed 1.6 trillion won by early 2026, and 96 percent of issued funds have been spent.

M69 Score

Methodology →

2.0

Minimally aligned

Monetary Sovereignty

1.7

Civilizational Durability

1.7

Universal Adoption

3.0

Rated 13d ago

M69 Verdict

The largest-per-capita of Korea's municipal local currencies: real adoption (226K users, 96% redemption) on a fully fiat, subsidy-dependent municipal rail. Fits the catalogue beside Busan, Daejeon, Incheon, Gyeonggi and Tamna-jeon.

M69 Score

M69 Alignment2.0

Minimally aligned

1.02.03.04.05.0

Monetary Sovereignty1.7

Issuance (3x) + Stability (2x) + Fiat Indep. (2x)

Civilizational Durability1.7

Sovereignty + Governance + Resilience

Universal Adoption3.0

Traction (2x) + Inclusivity

Iss Mod3x

2.0

Stability2x

2.0

Fia Ind & Int2x

1.0

Traction2x

3.0

Sovereignty

1.0

Governance

2.0

Resilience

2.0

Inclusivity

3.0

Scored against the Money2069 Manifesto — see methodology. Higher = more aligned.

Detailed Rating Breakdown

Issuance Model3x

2.0

Single municipal issuer, budget-driven and discretionary (IM-01: 1). Debt-free prepaid issuance (IM-02: 5), but supply follows the city subsidy budget, not economic activity (IM-03/04: 2), refunds possible (IM-05: 3).

Spending Power Stability2x

2.0

Hard 1:1 KRW peg; no mechanism beyond the peg, imports won inflation, conflates price stability with purchasing power.

Fiat Independence & Interoperability2x

1.0

Fully KRW-denominated, KRW-reserved, and dependent on banking rails and the national subsidy program.

Traction2x

3.0

Active with 226,000 subscribers (TR-03: 4) in a city of about 390,000; broad merchant acceptance across Sejong (TR-04: 4); heavy media and policy attention (TR-08: 4). But adoption is cashback-driven (TR-09: 2), issuance fell from 333.9B won (2023) to 144B won (2024), and it is never a unit of account (TR-05: 2).

Sovereignty

1.0

City-run, custodial card platform, real-name onboarding; the city can end it with one budget decision (the 2026 budget debate nearly did).

Governance

2.0

Public-institution governance: formal ordinance and budget process, publicly documented, but users hold no decision power.

Resilience

2.0

Survived national subsidy cuts and a 2025-2026 near-death budget fight, but existence depends on political funding each year (RE-07: 2).

Inclusivity

3.0

Open to residents and visitors 14+, low cost, real merchant reach; requires app or card onboarding and serves one city by design.