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Lottery organization calls on winner to collect $2.13M unclaimed prize

Published: 26 Sep. 2025, 10:29

People stand in a queue to buy lottery tickets in Nowon District, northern Seoul, on Jan. 1 2024. [YONHAP]

Winners of first and second prizes in Korea’s 1,145th Lotto draw, held on Nov. 9, 2024, have until Nov. 10 this year to claim their winnings — just over 40 days away.

The unclaimed first-place prize from the 1,145th draw amounts to over 3 billion won ($2.13 million), according to lottery operator Donghaeng Lottery on Thursday. The winning numbers were 2, 11, 31, 33, 37 and 44.

The winning ticket was purchased at a lottery shop in Namdong District, Incheon.

A second-place prize of 72.7 million won also remains unclaimed. The second-place numbers were the same six numbers plus the bonus number 32. The ticket was purchased at a shop in Buk District, Pohang, North Gyeongsang.

Lotto prizes must be claimed within one year from the draw date. Any unclaimed winnings are forfeited and revert entirely to the lottery fund, in accordance with the Lottery and Lottery Fund Act.

The lottery fund is used to support a variety of public welfare programs, including housing assistance for marginalized communities, scholarships for underprivileged youth and cultural heritage preservation projects.

“A number of winners forget about their tickets or miss the deadline without realizing they’ve won,” a representative from Donghaeng Lottery said. “As Lotto prizes must be claimed within one year of the draw, we urge anyone holding old tickets to double-check them and make sure to claim their prizes within the deadline.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM EUN-BIN [[email protected]]