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Tax breaks for tourist purchases to double next year

Published: 27 Nov. 2023, 17:41 Updated: 28 Nov. 2023, 09:35

JIN MIN-JI
[email protected]

Chinese group tourists head to the Lotte World Tower in Jamsil, southern Seoul, for shopping on Oct. 2. [YONHAP]

The government will double the maximum limit of purchases eligible for an immediate tax refund for foreign visitors starting next year to boost the tourism industry.

Under the current system, the maximum limit of purchases eligible for an immediate tax refund for an individual purchase is 500,000 won ($384) at once and 2.5 million won in total. That bar will be lifted to a million won per purchase with 5 million won in total, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance on Monday.

The changes will be effective from Jan. 1.

“The number of foreign tourists is recently growing rapidly as exchange with key countries has expanded,” said Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho during a ministerial meeting held at the government complex in central Seoul on Monday. The goal is to “activate the shopping of foreign tourists and to strengthen the tourism sector.”

The estimated number of average monthly foreign visitors to Korea has jumped to 1.07 million in the third quarter from 270,000 visitors last year, according to the ministry. A total of 1.25 million foreign visitors are estimated to have visited Korea in October.

The ministry also pledged to help export Korea’s postnatal care service overseas in a consortium with hospitals, postnatal care service centers and related businesses such as sellers of baby products, beauty services and digital health care.

At postpartum care centers, new mothers are provided with hotel-like services 24 hours a day. Food is served to the room, babies are taken care of by specialists and massages are offered to help them deflate postpartum belly bloat. They usually stay at the center for around two weeks, which comes with a hefty cost averaging 4.1 million won in Seoul as of last year.

About four out of five mothers who gave birth in 2020 received this care, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

The government vowed to improve the postpartum care center service by setting specific guidelines on the number of times a doctor should make rounds at the centers. More diverse services were also promised, including management of postpartum depression and education on child-rearing.

The government will also develop funeral services by simplifying approval procedures for burial in woodlands and setting a guideline that helps people prepare for their final days. Three-dimensional online sessions to commemorate the memory of the deceased will also be sophisticated.

The efforts reflect the government’s will to strengthen the development and export of industries on top of the tourism, content and service sectors it has primarily focused on, the ministry said.

BY JIN MIN-JI [[email protected]]