Some good news for duty-free shoppers in Korea.
The South Korean government has announced new plans to allow duty-free shops at arrival terminals from as early as June next year.
Our Kim Mok-yeon has this report.
After 15 years of negotiations, the South Korean government has finally allowed duty-free shops to be installed at arrival terminals at Incheon International Airport.
With the latest decision, passengers taking international flights will now be able to shop for duty-free items at the airport on arrival in Korea, rather than having to shop before departure and carry the items with them throughout their journey.
The nation's finance minister said that the move will also give a boost to domestic consumption as well as create more jobs.
"We seek to create more jobs by creating a new market for new demand."
To prevent controversy from large conglomerates benefiting from the decision, only small and medium-sized firms will be allowed to operate in the new duty-free area.
Cigarettes, fruits and processed livestock products will not be sold.
The duty-free shops will be introduced at Incheon International Airport as early as June next year,... and will gradually be rolled out at other airports around the country.
As of today, some 149 airports in 73 countries around the world have duty-free shops in the arrivals section of the airport.
Kim Mok-yeon, Arirang News.
