'Pension lottery' sales fall by half in South Korea

Sales for South Korea's so-called "pension lottery", which pays out in installments over 20 years instead of in a lump sum, fell 48.1 percent to 68.1 billion won ($62.5 million) in the first half of the year from the same period in 2012.
The pension lottery had been wildly popular after its 2011 launch, with tickets selling out for five straight months as South Korea limits lottery sales. Total lottery sales rose 0.45 percent in the first half to 1.63 trillion won, with Lotto game sales accounting for 1.5 trillion won. Finance ministry officials said they plan to license more retailers to sell lottery tickets after a decade-long halt.