Promotion to Raise Duty-Free Allowance from $600 to $800 for Overseas Travelers Upon Entry... First Increase in 8 Years Since 2014

[Asia Economy Bali (Indonesia) = Reporter Kim Hyewon] The government is pushing to raise the duty-free allowance for travelers' personal items from $600 to $800. This is the first time in eight years since 2014 that the duty-free limit has been increased.

On the 16th (local time), Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho held a press briefing with accompanying reporters after the closing of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Bali, Indonesia, stating, "We will continuously seek ways to boost the vitality of our economy so that the domestic economic recovery trend is not hindered."

Since September 2014, South Korea has limited the duty-free allowance for travelers' personal items upon re-entry after overseas travel to $600 per person. The duty-free limit has been gradually raised from 100,000 won (1979?1987) to 300,000 won (1988?1995), then from $400 (1996?August 2014) to $600.

Deputy Prime Minister Choo explained, "We have comprehensively reviewed changes in national income levels, the need to support the tourism industry, and overseas cases, and plan to reflect this in this year's tax law amendment bill."

Last year, South Korea's per capita income level (40.25 million won) increased by about 30% compared to 2014 when the duty-free limit was raised to $600. Additionally, despite the recent increase in overseas travelers, the government believes support is needed for the tourism industry, including duty-free shops, which are struggling with slower sales recovery compared to the pre-COVID-19 period.

Deputy Prime Minister Choo said, "We must also consider improving employment stability for workers in the tourism industry," adding, "South Korea's duty-free allowance is similar to the OECD average (about $566) and the European Union average (about $509), but to strengthen the competitiveness of the duty-free industry, it is necessary to proactively and preemptively consider raising the duty-free limit." He also noted that the duty-free limits in neighboring competitor countries such as China (5,000 yuan, about $776) and Japan (200,000 yen, about $1,821) are higher, which should be taken into account.

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