The Lottery Dilemma

 The Lottery Dilemma

With the National Pension facing a crisis and job stability becoming precarious, people are worried about their retirement. Even considering the inflation, receiving a pension leaves people uncertain. Consequently, society seems to be flowing toward reckless behavior. There are instances of people counterfeiting 10 billion won checks, and incidents where human lives are treated as cheap as flies.

Lottery seems to be the most legal form of recklessness that's gaining attention. In 2012, in Gwangju Seo-gu, a man named Kim (43) was found dead in a bathhouse dressing room, having committed suicide by hanging himself. Despite winning a hefty 1.8 billion won in the lottery in 2007, Kim spent it all and eventually took his own life. He quit his job as soon as he won, indulged in various businesses with acquaintances using the prize money, and invested in stocks. However, he ended up losing all the money after being defrauded multiple times. As his financial situation worsened, he borrowed money from relatives and ended up with tens of millions of won in debt. This led to family discord and ultimately divorce.

Is the lottery a stroke of luck or a disaster?

This is not a unique story to South Korea. Michael Carroll, who was 20 years old in 2002, won a £9.7 million lottery and suddenly became a young millionaire. After winning, he shared £4 million with his family and friends, bought luxury mansions and racing cars, and indulged in drinking, gambling, prostitution, and even drugs, landing himself in prison twice. Eventually, in February 2010, he declared bankruptcy and began receiving unemployment benefits. Now, at the age of 30, he lives in northern Scotland with his 10-year-old daughter, having quit drugs and alcohol, and works in a biscuit factory in the area, earning £204 per week (approximately 350,000 won).

Economic researchers at the University of Kentucky and the University of Pittsburgh analyzed the current status of 3,500 people who won the "Fantasy 5 Lottery" from 1993 to 2003 and found that more than half of them went bankrupt within 5 years of winning. While the bankruptcy rate of small prize winners was more than twice as high as that of large prize winners in the first 2 years after winning, it was significantly higher for large prize winners in the 3-5 year period. The researchers concluded that waste was the decisive factor in bankruptcy. The difference in how money earned and money that just rolls in is spent led to the outcome.

In 1997, David Ashcroft from Liverpool, England, won a staggering amount of over 20 billion won in our currency in the lottery, yet to this day, 16 years later, he has maintained his previous lifestyle. He stated, "I am an ordinary and introverted person," adding, "Since a lot of money can change me, I am maintaining my pre-winning lifestyle."

Recently, an 18-year-old boy in the UK won a lottery worth an astonishing 38.6 billion won in our currency. As the highest amount among the top 10 teenage winners in the UK, the biggest interest lies in how he will spend the money. Surprisingly, according to local media reports, the boy has already donated some of the large prize money to charity and is living his life as usual.

In April 2012, Kim (34) won the second prize in the 39th Pension Lottery and announced that he would donate the recent prize of 100 million won to elderly people living alone and guardians of orphaned children in the local area. Kim said, "I have been running a group to help difficult neighbors, and fortunately, winning the lottery allows me to help more people," expressing his joy. At the end of 2011, Park (71) also donated his prize of 100 million won to financially disadvantaged students. Working as a security guard in an apartment complex, Park said, "I plan to sponsor students so they can concentrate on studying without worrying about money," adding, "It would be good if lottery winners could give back some of their luck to society."

The Korea Lottery Corporation recently released an analysis showing that the effect of the lottery industry on the domestic economy amounts to an annual 3.4 trillion won. According to the report, the average annual production-induced effect is calculated to be 2.2783 trillion won from 2005 to 2011, as lottery funds created over 7 years are invested in the real economy, resulting in a ripple effect. The additional value-induced effect and employment creation effect are estimated to be an average of 1.1541 trillion won and 17,629 jobs annually, respectively. It is said that lottery winners spend 98% of their winnings domestically, contributing to increased domestic consumption. Furthermore, the report analyzed that the lottery industry has the effect of replacing illegal gambling industries. According to a survey conducted by Gallup Korea last year, 57.3% of respondents selected "fundraising through lottery sales" as the best way to create welfare funds. In fact, the "social return index," which represents the ratio of public funds created to total sales, was 38.5% for lottery, higher than other gambling industries such as sports betting (24.8%), horse racing (19.0%), horse racing and horse racing (19.1%), and casinos (6.4%).

The lottery holds a social and economic significance. For individuals who enjoy the lottery and wish for their lottery luck to continue as a life fortune, I believe it's important to firmly decide what you want in advance and maintain your usual life. Additionally, winning the lottery may bring not only praise but also criticism from those around you. Some even quietly emigrate to another country. But is living as an immigrant in another country without a plan truly happy? By doing good deeds,