January 23, 2025
BANGKOK – Two men working in South Korea have landed a jackpot, winning the top lottery prize of 4,066,375,179 won (approximately 96 million baht), according to the Facebook page, “VHV’ Mother Korean Channel – New Page”.
The page posted on Tuesday (January 21, 2025) the headline: “Thai nationals in Korea win 4,000,000,000 won (almost 100 million baht)! Congratulations! Time to head home. Goose bumps!”
Another post included a photo of the two men and the lottery ticket showing a prize amount of 4,066,375,179 won (approximately 96 million baht). It noted that the winners work in Paju, in South Korea’s Gyeonggi province, and have paid all applicable taxes.
Additionally, the page posted that #SouthKoreaLottoTax deducts 22% for prizes between 2 million won and up to 300 million won, while prizes exceeding 300 million won are taxed at 33%. The lottery is drawn every Saturday. In this case, the prize is 4 billion won (approximately 96 million baht), with an estimated tax deduction of around 30 million baht.
Meanwhile, the page “Madam Lee, the Korean daughter-in-law” revealed that the lucky Thai winners are two individuals who split the winnings evenly, each receiving around 45 million baht.
On Wednesday (January 22), reporters visited a house in Ban Phue district of Udon Thani province, the home of Sumetsak. He is one of the lucky Thai individuals who won the lottery while working in South Korea. They also met with his mother Tussanee, 64, and his daughter Natthinee, 21.
Tussanee revealed that on the morning of January 20, her son, 42, called to say he was coming home. At first, she thought he might have gotten into trouble and was being sent back. Then he told her he had won a major lottery prize. She initially thought he was joking, but when she realised it was true, she and her granddaughter were overjoyed and at a loss for words.
The next day, her son called again, saying he was about to head to work. She asked why he didn’t take a day off, and he replied, “Why should I?” Tussanee said that her son is hardworking.
She added that he would finish his contract with the factory in another 5-6 months and return home after completing his four-year contract.
Tussanee further said that another person who was also lucky worked with her son, and they bought the lottery ticket together. However, she couldn’t recall which province that person was from, except that he was from the northern region.
Tussanee shared that back home, her son was not fond of the lottery, but after moving abroad for work, he would occasionally buy lottery tickets. Regarding plans on using the prize money, they haven’t discussed it yet. They are waiting for her son to return home before making any decisions together, the mother said.