Korea Energy Voucher 2026: Winter Heating Aid by Dec 31

Winter use of Korea's energy voucher began on October 1. If your household receives one of the Basic Livelihood Security benefits and includes an older person, a young child, a person with a registered disability, or another eligible member, you may be entitled to help with heating costs this winter. Applications for the 2026 program remain open until December 31, 2026.

One thing changed this year, and it matters for winter. The voucher is no longer split into a summer portion and a winter portion. It is set as one annual amount that can be used at any time between July 1, 2026 and May 31, 2027. So if your household did not use the voucher for air conditioning in the summer, or did not apply until now, the full amount is available for heating.

Everything below was checked on October 7, 2026 against the official energy voucher website run by the Korea Energy Agency and against government notices. The guide follows a simple order: whether you qualify, how much you get, which payment method to choose, how to apply, and what people tend to miss.

The key facts at a glance

Application period — June 15 to December 31, 2026

Winter use starts — October 1 for bill deduction, October 3 for the National Happiness Card

Last day of use — May 31, 2027

Annual amount — 295,200 won (one person), 407,500 won (two), 532,700 won (three), 701,300 won (four or more)

Where to apply — the community service center (eup, myeon or dong office) for your registered address, or the Bokjiro welfare portal

Help line — Energy Voucher Contact Center, 1600-3190 (weekdays 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., closed 12 to 1 p.m.)

1. Do you qualify? You need to meet two conditions

The voucher goes to households that meet both an income condition and a household-member condition. Meeting only one is not enough.

The income condition. Someone in the household must be receiving at least one of the four benefits under Korea's National Basic Livelihood Security Act: livelihood, medical, housing, or education benefits. Any one of the four counts, so a household that receives only the housing benefit or only the education benefit still meets this condition. A household that receives none of these four benefits does not qualify, even if it has an older or disabled member.

The household-member condition. The benefit recipient, or anyone listed with them on the same resident registration record, must fall into at least one of these groups:

Older person — born on or before December 31, 1961

Young child — born on or after January 1, 2019, aged seven or under and not yet in school

Person with a disability — registered under the Act on Welfare of Persons with Disabilities

Pregnant or postpartum woman — currently pregnant, or less than six months after giving birth

Person with a serious, rare, or severe intractable illness — conditions covered by the National Health Insurance special co-payment rules

Single-parent family — eligible under the Single-Parent Family Support Act

Child-headed household — including children in foster care

Household with multiple children — a parent plus two or more of that parent's children under 19 on the same registration

Households where every member receives benefits while living in a care facility are excluded.

2. How much: one annual amount, usable in any season

Household size is counted by the people listed together on the resident registration record.

One person — 295,200 won

Two people — 407,500 won

Three people — 532,700 won

Four or more — 701,300 won

Three points are worth knowing.

First, this is the total for the 2026 program year, not a monthly payment. You draw it down between July 1, 2026 and May 31, 2027.

Second, there is no summer or winter split this year. Whatever you did not use in the summer carries into the winter. If nothing was used in the summer, the full amount is available for heating.

Third, according to the official guidance, the voucher amount is not counted as income when the recipient's benefits are calculated. Receiving it does not reduce your other benefits through the income assessment.

If your household grows during the year, you can apply to update the number of members at any point until May 31, 2027.

3. Two ways to use it in winter: choose by how your home is heated

In winter you pick one of two methods. The deciding question is simply what your home uses for heat.

Automatic bill deduction (virtual card) — for city gas, electricity, or district heating

You choose one of city gas, electricity, or district heating.

Bring your most recent bill for that energy source when you apply. The voucher is then deducted automatically from the following month's bill. There is nothing to pay at a counter and no card to carry.

Deductions apply to bills issued up to May 31, 2027.

For an older person living alone, or anyone who finds card payments a hassle, this is the method with the least effort.

National Happiness Card (physical card) — for kerosene, LPG, or briquettes

The card can be used for electricity, city gas, kerosene, LPG and coal briquettes. Homes heated with kerosene, LPG or briquettes will need this method.

After applying for the voucher, you get a National Happiness Card from a bank or card company. The issuing card companies are BC, Lotte, Samsung, KB Kookmin, Shinhan and Hyundai Card.

Kerosene, LPG and briquettes are bought from participating dealers, and the delivery fee can be included in the payment. The list of participating dealers is on the energy voucher website.

Electricity can be paid by card through KEPCO (dial 123), and city gas through your local gas company's office. Payment options and accepted cards differ by company, so check before you rely on it.

The card cannot be used at bank counters or utility payment kiosks, and it must not be given or lent to anyone else.

If your situation changes, for example a move to a home with a different heating source, you can switch between the card and bill deduction until May 31, 2027.

4. How to apply

In person. Go to the community service center for your registered address. The application form is filled out there. If you want bill deduction, bring your most recently paid electricity, city gas or district heating bill.

Online. You can apply through the Bokjiro welfare portal. Applications made on someone else's behalf, however, can only be submitted in person.

On someone's behalf. If the recipient has difficulty getting around, a household member on the same registration or a relative (blood relatives up to the eighth degree, in-laws up to the fourth) can apply. A letter of authorization and the representative's ID are required.

Through a public official. A welfare official can file the application with the recipient's consent, given verbally or in writing. If applying alone is difficult, ask the community service center about this route. This year, a home-visit service in which postal workers and social workers check on households, explain the program and help with using it has also been expanded to 122,000 households.

If you received the voucher last year. According to the government notice, last year's recipients whose eligibility has not changed are registered automatically. If your benefit type or household members have changed, check again. The surest way to confirm is the balance check below.

5. Checking your balance

Go to Welfare Wallet, then My Welfare Wallet.

Your energy voucher balance is shown there.

For a detailed usage history, use the energy voucher chatbot or call 1600-3190. The balance can only be checked during the usage period.

6. Five things people tend to miss

Do not leave it to the last week of December. The deadline is December 31, but the official site says applications pause for two or three days at the end of December while vouchers are processed. Bill deduction also starts with the bill after you apply, so the later you apply, the fewer bills it can be deducted from.

Other winter fuel support cannot be combined with it. Households receiving the winter fuel allowance under the Emergency Welfare Support Act, the 2026 coal briquette coupon, or the 2026 briquette conversion voucher cannot also use the energy voucher in winter. If you choose one of those, the energy voucher is limited to the summer portion (40,700 won for one person up to 102,000 won for four or more), usable in summer only. Compare the options with the community service center before deciding.

If heating is bundled into your rent, there is a separate route. New in 2026, an advance exceptional payment gives cash support during the program period to recipients whose energy costs are included in their rent, making direct payment with the voucher difficult. If you do not receive your own heating bills, ask the community service center whether this applies to you.

The card works only in certain places. It is rejected at bank counters and payment kiosks, and each power and gas company handles card payments differently. A quick check before the first use saves a wasted trip.

Check the balance before planning the winter. Because unused summer amounts carry over this year, looking up your balance on Bokjiro tells you exactly how much heating support you have left.

A checklist if you are checking for a parent

If you are looking into this for a parent or another relative, this order works:

Do they receive livelihood, medical, housing, or education benefits?

Is anyone on their resident registration born on or before December 31, 1961? If so, the household-member condition is met.

Is their home heated with city gas, electricity or district heating (choose bill deduction) or with kerosene, LPG or briquettes (choose the card)?

Does a Bokjiro balance check show that this year's voucher has already been created?

For an application on their behalf, bring a letter of authorization and your ID, and for bill deduction, their latest bill.

The two dates to remember

Apply by December 31, 2026, and use the voucher by May 31, 2027. If you are unsure whether a household qualifies, the quickest answer comes from the community service center or the contact center at 1600-3190: tell them which benefit the household receives and who is on the resident registration.