Exclusive shops for overseas visitors likely to debut next year


The opening of foreigners-only duty-free shops across the nation is most likely to take place next year, deferred from the government’s plan to have them ready by this year.

The Korea Customs Service said Sunday that the establishment of foreigners-only duty-free shops is being delayed due to conflicts occurring between commissioners responsible for making a public announcement involving the issue.

“Confirming the basic scheme and accepting applications, along with the selection of operators and locations are estimated to take another three to five months, which is why it will actually be difficult to open the duty-free shops for foreigners within this year,” said a KCS official.

The customs agency said earlier in March that it will set up duty-free shops exclusively designed to serve foreigners visiting Seoul at locations nationwide to give a boost to the country’s smaller businesses and tourism sector.

It also stated that advantages will be offered in operations to small and mid-sized firms as well as public agencies in rural areas, which triggered many to throw their hats into the bidding race.

However, the process is currently seeing a delay as the regulatory revision commission within the KCS is unsure that the new duty-free shops could be competitive without the participation of the bigger conglomerates.

The commissioners are also debating whether the new stores will be able to compete with the 187 existing duty-free shops and foreigner-targeted souvenir shops located in 10 different areas nationwide. The commission will hold a meeting on the issue again on Monday.

The government is expected to give the green light to about eight to nine new foreigners-only duty-free shops in six different broad regions across the nation.

As the regional governments project the new set-up of duty-free shops will somewhat revive their economies, many local offices ― including Gyeonggi, North Chungcheong and South Jeolla provinces ― have hinted that they will dive in to get the operation licenses.

As an exemplary case, the office of North Chungcheong Province, which is not equipped with any large shopping malls, currently has plans to establish a new duty-free shop inside a hotel for overseas visitors who want to shop during their stay there.

Daejeon and South Chung­cheong Province are also willing to take part in the effort, claiming they plan to build new duty-free stores inside some department stores.

Gangwon Province is another potential bidder that is considering constructing a duty-free shop on its popular Nami Island, well known because of the TV drama “Winter Sonata.”

For the metropolitan areas, five to six hotels in the country’s capital Seoul and up to 10 different private and public institutions in Goyang and Suwon of Gyeonggi Province are showing interest in the operations of the tax-free stores for foreigners.

The operations of tax-free shops for overseas visitors are currently seen in countries like the U.S. and Australia.

By Cho Ji-hyun (sharon@heraldcorp.com)