▲ This file photo taken on Feb. 9, 2026, shows a lottery ticket shop in Seoul. (Yonhap)

By Kang Yoon-seung

SEOUL, Aug. 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will launch a new system to automatically pay lottery prizes to winners amid a rise in unclaimed winnings, the country's state-run lottery commission said Tuesday.

Under the system, the Korea Lottery Commission under the budget ministry will allow buyers to register paper lottery tickets purchased at retail outlets on Payco, a local mobile payment app, starting Tuesday next week.

The service will notify users whether their registered tickets have won and automatically disburse any unclaimed prize money on the final day of the claim period.

According to the commission, a total of 58.1 billion won (US$41 million) in prize money for Lotto, one of the country's major lottery products, remained unclaimed in 2025, with most of the uncollected prizes being relatively small amounts of 50,000 won or 5,000 won.

"Unlike tickets purchased online, there have been limitations in identifying buyers of tickets sold offline, with winnings unclaimed by the one-year deadline transferred to the state lottery fund for public programs," the commission said.

"By providing a method for people to claim their rights, even if the amount is small, we expect to enhance public trust in the lottery," it added.

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