South Korea Duty-Free Shop Sales Plummet by Nearly Half Over Past Six Years

MaticHoleFiller · 2026-03-17T16:15:06+00:00

South Korea's Ministry of Economy and Finance data shows that duty-free shop sales fell to 12.5 trillion won in 2025, nearly halving compared to 2019, primarily due to won depreciation and reduced Chinese parallel purchasing demand. The government will implement support measures to address the continued sluggish sales situation.

MaticHoleFiller

2026-03-17 16:15:06

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Data released by South Korea’s Ministry of Economy and Finance on Friday shows that the total sales of local duty-free shops in Korea in 2025 nearly halved compared to six years ago, partly due to the depreciation of the Korean won and a decline in demand from Chinese shoppers.

The data indicates that the total sales of Korean duty-free shops in 2025 amounted to 12.5 trillion won (approximately $84 billion), down 49.6% from 24.8 trillion won in 2019.

It also shows that in 2020, sales at Korean duty-free shops dropped to 15.5 trillion won, and have remained below 20 trillion won since then.

Due to the continued decline in sales, the Ministry of Economy and Finance convened a meeting of the Duty-Free Shop Management Committee on Friday with relevant departments to assess the operational status of duty-free shops.

The ministry pointed out that the weakening of the Korean won, changing consumer patterns, and the decline in demand from Chinese buyers are some of the reasons for the drop in sales, and pledged to introduce supportive measures.

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