The government will begin handing out COVID-19 relief funds to the lower 88 percent of the income bracket beginning next Monday.

Officials announced details of eligibility, the application process and method of payment in a joint press briefing on Monday. Eligibility will be determined by each household's national health insurance payment in June. 

Single-person households that paid 170-thousand won or less are eligible, while four-person households that paid 310-thousand won or less for single income, and 390-thousand won or less for dual income will receive the funds.

The payouts of 250-thousand won per person will be given as vouchers or prepaid cards or through credit or debit cards. Online applications will start next Monday, while offline applications begin on September 13 and run through October 29.

The payments must be spent by December 31 at traditional markets, neighborhood grocery stores, restaurants, pharmacies and franchised convenience stores, bakeries and coffee shops. 

They cannot be spent at department stores, conglomerate-run grocery stores or on online shopping.

This is the second time the government is providing emergency relief grants to the general public to offset the fallout from the pandemic. It paid all households relief funds of up to one million won in May last year.