The Lottery Commission under the Ministry of Planning and Budget imposed a 30 million won penalty for breach on Donghaeng Lottery, the commissioned operator, and demanded personnel action against those responsible, citing violations of its obligations over the placement structure of first-prize tickets in the Triple Luck electronic lottery. At issue was not only that it was slow to reflect a revised rule requiring first-prize tickets to be placed in a completely random manner, but also that it tried to conceal the structure despite already knowing about it.
According to the commission on the 27th, it held a plenary meeting and resolved the sanction under the provisions of the lottery business consignment contract. At the meeting, a plan to expand the priority contract eligibility for lottery sellers, the 2027 lottery promotion plan and a proposal to approve the 2027 renewal contracts for online lottery sellers were also deliberated and passed.
The sanction follows the results of an additional on-site inspection carried out in September. When the commission, having received additional tips, conducted the inspection, it found that information on the placement structure had already been shared within Donghaeng Lottery in July 2024 but was not reported to the commission. There were also signs of attempted concealment, such as deleting related emails while preparing for the July 2025 on-site inspection. The commission has requested an audit by the Board of Audit and Inspection.
Triple Luck is an instant electronic lottery in which players can tell whether they have won as soon as they buy a ticket that has been issued in advance. Since its debut in 2010, a 'distributed placement' structure, in which first-prize tickets are spread across total sales, has continued. The commission identified this in January 2025 and in July of the same year changed to a 'completely random' method that removed placement restrictions to raise the product's randomness. A commission official explained, “If 15 million tickets are issued, there are four first prizes, and they had been placed one each at 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%. We improved this to a completely random placement so that, in the extreme case, four first prizes could come out even if only 1% is sold.”
In its on-site inspection in July 2025, the commission had earlier concluded that Donghaeng Lottery breached its duty of care as a prudent manager, citing the delay in improving the system structure, among other things, and imposed a 30 million won penalty for breach in September of the same year.
Priority contract eligibility for lottery retail outlets is also being widened. The commission plans to amend the enforcement decree to include spouses of Korean War veterans and wounded or disabled soldiers and police officers on active support duty, and their bereaved families. The newly included people number about 130,000 spouses of war veterans and about 10,000 wounded or disabled soldiers and police and their bereaved families, about 140,000 in all. The aim is to give notice of the legislation at the end of this month and promulgate it in February 2027.
The renewal contracts for sellers also include provisions to protect their rights and strengthen accountability. The number of online lottery sellers subject to renewal next year is 9,169, and the contract period runs from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31 next year. Sellers notified of unfavorable measures such as suspension of sales or termination of contract can file an objection within 14 days, and the commissioned operator must notify them of the result in writing within 30 days of receipt. A clause that had barred claims for damages even when a contract terminated for violating lottery laws was followed by an acquittal has been removed.
Conversely, a new basis has been established for terminating a contract if sellers, including their employees, engage in conduct that undermines trust in the lottery business. Refusing to sell without a justifiable reason when a buyer tries to pay by bank transfer or lottery exchange voucher is also prohibited.
Cho Yong-beom, vice minister of planning and budget, said, “We will strengthen the fairness and credibility of the lottery business and protect the rights of veterans' beneficiaries and lottery sellers, while spreading the sharing and donation value of lotteries.”