"Work out and get points."" Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism implements 'Strong Money' project for sports activities

*This content was translated by AI.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister Choi Hwi-young) announced that it will implement the "2026 Sports Activity Incentive (Tough Money)" project with the Seoul Olympic Memorial National Sports Promotion Foundation (Chairman Ha Hyung-joo) to encourage people to participate in sports activities in daily life from the 23rd.

"Strong Money" is a special sports activity system that anyone aged 4 or older can participate in, and if you participate in sports activities, you can earn 500 points in 30 minutes. If you do sports activities at 4,000 sports facilities nationwide where you can accumulate points or receive physical measurements at the National Physical Fitness Certification Center, you can accumulate up to 50,000 points per person per year.

The accumulated points can be converted to Zero Pay Sports Gift Certificates, Samsung Life Slimy, and Cultural Gift Certificates to be used in the entire sports and health sectors (86,000 locations can be used), such as purchasing sports products, registering sports facilities, using pharmacies and hospitals, and paying insurance premiums. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Sports Corporation plan to continue to expand the point conversion to local currency and financial companies to expand the convenience of the public.

This year, the accumulation environment will be greatly improved to increase user convenience. Exercise certification and point management will be made easier through an application (app) dedicated to "Tough Money," which will be officially released at the end of March. Before the launch of the application program (app) (scheduled from February 23 to March 30), it will operate mainly on the project participation guidance and accumulation functions using the QR code on the "National Fitness 100" website. After the launch of the application program (scheduled after March 31), it will provide all functions such as sports activity record management, nearby accumulation facilities, point conversion, and various participation (challenge).

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Sports Corporation will also promote publicity and various events to expand public participation in connection with the launch of application programs (apps). The Korea Sports Corporation provides notification messages to members who have agreed to receive marketing among the "strong money" participants. More details on participation and events in "Strong Money" can be found on the "National Fitness 100" website.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Sports Corporation are increasing their experience of sports welfare by expanding the scale of support for the "strong money" project every year. In particular, in 2025, it has laid the foundation for participatory sports policies by providing benefits to many citizens about five times (25,000 in 2024 → 124,000 in 2025).

"We expect 'strong money' to increase the participation rate of people's sports through practical compensation for participation in sports, and contribute to easing the burden of medical expenses and establishing a health care culture by preventing chronic diseases," said Kim Dae-hyun, the second vice minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. "The Ministry of Culture will work to expand the scale of support in stages to create an environment where people can enjoy sports more easily in their daily lives and to realize a 'society with strong basics'."

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*This content was translated by AI.