Korean Job Discussion Forums

[wylies99]

Locals more dominant at duty-free stores
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/



Duty-free shops here are more widely accessed by Korean nationals than foreign visitors, signaling the need for reformation in the national tariff system, a report found yesterday.

The report of the Korea Institute of Public Finance showed that the country`s duty-free shops cater more to the demands of local consumers, raising the questions of fair and balanced tax rates and a monopolistic market structure.

As of 1999, Korean nationals accounted for 14.8 percent, or 343,000, of the total of 2.31 million users of the duty-free shops established back in 1979 for the convenience of foreign visitors.

The number of local users of local duty-free shops has been growing steadily. In 2000, they made up 20.8 percent, 31.6 percent in 2001, 43.3 percent in 2002, 52.8 percent in 2003, 65.5 percent in 2006, and 74 percent in 2007.

Meanwhile, the number of foreign users has been on a decline since 1999 when they accounted for 42 percent, the report showed. As of 2006, the figure had plunged to 27 percent.

"The duty-free shops aimed at making shopping more convenient for foreign visitors have become meaningless," the report said. "The duty-free system adopted in 1979 to attract foreign currency has now lost its significance, as the size of the Korean economy has grown about 30-fold since then, reducing the impact these local duty-free shops have on the national economy," the report criticized.

Compared to the duty-free shops at airports, which offer more perfumes and consumable goods, the outlets operating in the city provide more items popular to local consumers. Some examples are fashion brands, leather goods, watches and accessories.

The report thus highlighted the need to address fair and balanced taxes placed on the same items sold elsewhere in the country, since many of the same duty-free items are brought back into the country.

The report also criticized the monopolistic nature of the business. It noted that the top-three duty-free shops, which are operated by only those businesses permitted a license, have control of up to 85 percent of the sales revenue of some brands.

By Yoo Soh-jung

([email protected])







2008.09.30

[wylies99]

Seriously, I had NO IDEA those shops were supposed to cater to foreigners. Nobody speaks English and every sign is in Korean.
Is someone pretending that they had "no idea" that Koreans shop there, too?

[ciccone_youth]

Yes when I was at the airport last summer I was surprised by so many Duty-Free shopping bags the Koreans had! Madness. Never saw that anywhere else.

[Poemer]

One of the highlights of traveling out of the country, maybe THE highlight, for a lot of Koreans is the trip to the duty-free shop.

[Juregen]

Where everything is as expensive as the shop around the corner.

[jvalmer]

[wylies99]

[cdninkorea]

[ciccone_youth]

I think so, but they're still really expensive. For example, high-end cosmetics and perfume is still soo much more expensive than say, Canada or the UK.

[mindmetoo]

What I find even funnier are made in Korea items at the Duty Free.

[victorology]

Duty free stores are popular among Koreans because most of these luxury import goods are highly taxed in Korea. It's the same with the Japanese. In Hawaii, I'd say over 90% of the duty free shoppers are Japanese.

[bobbyhanlon]