[THE INVESTOR] The Korean government has expanded its incentive program for home appliances with high energy efficiency to all major stores in a bid to encourage consumers to use environmentally-friendly products as well as to spur domestic spending, the commerce ministry said Saturday.

The program offers cash backs of up 10 percent on five types of household electronic appliances that have the highest energy efficiency ratings.

Initially, the government incentives were only offered on products sold at stores run directly by large conglomerates.

It has been expanded to include all major retail shops, only one day after the program was launched, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said.

The program mainly seeks to promote the use of environmentally-friendly products, but is also designed to help boost local spending.

The country’s local consumer prices gained only 0.9 percent in the first six months of the year, falling far short of a 2 percent annual target set by its central bank.

Exports, one of two main growth engines for Asia‘s fourth-largest economy along with local consumption, have fallen every single month since the start of 2015.

The five types of electronics eligible for the government incentive are air conditioners, conventional refrigerators and those specifically made for kimchi, air purifiers and televisions that are less than 40 inches in size, the ministry said.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)