Sharp Decline in Overseas Purchases Offsets Growth in Korean Outbound Travel (Yonhap)
SEOUL, May 23 (Korea Bizwire) — South Koreans’ overseas card spending fell by the largest margin in three years in the first quarter from three months earlier due mainly to a decline in overseas direct purchases, data showed Friday.
The amount of money spent overseas by South Koreans with credit and debit cards came to US$5.35 billion in the January-March period, down 5.2 percent from the previous quarter’s $5.64 billion, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).
It marked the sharpest on-quarter decline since the first quarter of 2022.
The decline came as overseas direct purchases via credit cards dropped 15.3 percent from the previous quarter to $1.35 billion.
“Direct purchases from overseas tend to increase in the fourth quarter due to such major discount events as Black Friday. The first-quarter decline was mainly attributable to a seasonal factor,” a BOK official said.
The number of outbound travelers advanced 4.1 percent on-quarter to 7.79 million in the first quarter.
Compared with a year earlier, overseas card spending went up 3.1 percent, which was the lowest growth since the first quarter of 2021, when card spending tumbled amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the data showed.
(Yonhap)
