New Coronavirus 'Consumption Contagion' Becomes a Reality

Card Spending on the First Weekend of This Month

Compared to the Weekend Just Before Domestic Outbreak of Infectious Disease

Down 11.5%... Clear Consumption Slump

International Passenger Numbers Until the 10th of This Month Also Down 32% Compared to Last Year

[Asia Economy Reporters Minyoung Kim, Sehee Jang, Jehun Yoo] As consumer sentiment has sharply contracted due to the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia) crisis, credit and debit card spending has decreased by about 11%. The number of international passengers until the 10th of this month dropped by 32% compared to last year. The spread of the novel coronavirus is directly hitting consumption, as shown by the actual figures.

According to the 'Credit and Debit Card Merchant Approval Performance (Weekend Basis)' submitted by the Credit Finance Association to the National Assembly on the 11th, card spending on the first weekend of February (1st-2nd), right after the Lunar New Year holiday, was 3.3523 trillion KRW, down 11.5% from 3.7667 trillion KRW on the weekend before the holiday (January 18-19). This period coincided with the rise in domestic confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus after the Lunar New Year holiday. It is interpreted that consumption decreased as people refrained from going out due to concerns about infection.

The card spending on the first weekend of February is also significantly lower compared to the period from December last year, when there were no confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus domestically, through mid-January this year. December card spending was maintained in the mid-to-high 3 trillion KRW range: 3.6292 trillion KRW on the 7th-8th, 3.8501 trillion KRW on the 14th-15th, 3.6339 trillion KRW on the 21st-22nd, and 3.5472 trillion KRW on the 28th-29th. Last month's card spending was similar to the previous month, with 3.4798 trillion KRW on the 4th-5th and 3.5592 trillion KRW on the 11th-12th. However, card spending on January 25-26, right after the first confirmed case domestically, fell to 2.0867 trillion KRW due to overlapping Lunar New Year holidays, dropping into the 2 trillion KRW range.

Professor Jeonghee Lee of the Department of Economics at Chung-Ang University explained, "Before the Lunar New Year, consumption tends to increase due to purchases of holiday gift sets, and after the holiday, consumption rises with pocket money and bonuses received during the holiday. However, this year’s holiday special demand disappeared due to the impact of the novel coronavirus." She added, "There seems to be a learning effect from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak, causing people to avoid going out and thus shrinking consumption."

The aviation industry, which is most affected by the novel coronavirus crisis, is facing a crisis of survival. According to real-time statistics from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s Aviation Information Portal System, the number of international passengers at airports nationwide from the 1st to the 10th was provisionally counted at 1,771,507. This is a 32% decrease compared to 2,609,422 passengers during the same period last year. The decline is significant even considering that last February included the Lunar New Year holiday (1st-6th). This is due to domestic airlines’ full-scale suspension of flights on China routes.

A senior official from a domestic airline said, "Recently, cancellations have been frequent not only on China routes but also on other routes such as Southeast Asia and Oceania," adding, "If the situation prolongs, many airlines that cannot endure will emerge one after another."

The decline in passenger numbers has already been evident since January. The number of international passengers at airports nationwide last month (based on paying passengers) was about 7.88 million, down 1.7% compared to the same period last year. Although the decrease is not large, this is the first time in the past five years that January passenger numbers have declined.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.