À̹ÌÁö È®´ë [Photo by Lee Chung-woo]
Korea opened its first arrival duty-free shops at its main gateway Incheon International Airport.
Two arrival duty-free shops near baggage claim in Terminal 1 and one in Terminal 2 at Incheon International Airport opened for business Friday, according to the Korea Customs Service and Incheon International Airport Corp.
SM Duty Fee will operate two duty-free shops at Terminal 1 and Entas Duty Free one shop at Terminal 2. The stores will sell products of ten categories, including cosmetics, perfumes, and liquor. Cigarettes and other products such as agricultural and processed meat products are not available.
À̹ÌÁö È®´ë [Photo by Lee Chung-woo]
The Korean government in September last year announced a plan to enable an opening of travel retail shops at arrival terminals in Incheon International Airport to alleviate the inconvenience of having to travel with duty-free goods and boost domestic spending. To allow duty-free shops at arrival airport terminals, the government has revised related laws and has picked small-to-mid sized travel retailers to run the shops.
Tax exemption per person is unchanged at $600 despite the increased shopping opportunities. Koreans must report their purchases before leaving the security area and pay tax on the purchases exceeding the duty-free limit.
Liquors under 1-liter, tobacco up to 200 cigarettes, 60-milliliter or less perfume will not be included in the $600 cap as they are subject to a special tax.
By Ji Hong-goo and Cho Jeehyun
[¨Ï Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]