Domestic spending shoots up over Chuseok

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Domestic spending shoots up over Chuseok


Domestic spending in Korea showed a significant increase during the long Chuseok holiday this year, according to a report released by KB Kookmin Card on Sunday.

The nation’s No. 2 credit card company said that average daily spending by its users in Korea reached 191.8 billion won ($170 million) during the 10-day holiday, which fell between Sept. 30 and Oct. 8. This is a 35.8 percent jump from last year’s record of 141.2 billion won and 37.5 percent more than what was spent during the Lunar New Year holiday earlier this year.

The average number of transactions made daily recorded 7.02 million, a huge 29.2 percent more than last year during the Chuseok holiday.

Spending by those in their 70s shot up the most, with an 87.6 percent year-on-year hike. Those in their 30s showed the smallest increase, recording a 24 percent jump compared to the same period last year.

By business type, spending on medical establishments such as hospitals and dental clinics rose the most, showing a 224 percent year-on-year increase. The credit card company analyze that people took advantage of the unusually long holiday period to have surgery or procedures that required longer-term hospitalization.

Retail spending also increased, with health food stores jumping up 199.2 percent and souvenir shops’ sales increasing 92.4 percent compared to last year.

Unsurprisingly, transactions made overseas also shot up.

KB Kookmin Card said that the average daily transactions made overseas reached 393.6 billion won, a 49.3 percent jump compared to last year’s Chuseok holiday. This was a 61.7 percent jump compared to this year’s Lunar New Year holiday.

Unlike the trend shown in domestic consumption, those in their 30s recorded the highest growth rate with 71.7 percent. Those in their 50s showed the lowest growth, recording a 30.9 percent jump compared to last year.

The United States and Japan topped the list in terms of spending, with Canada coming in third.

“Thanks to the long holiday, daily domestic spending increased a lot, which will boost the domestic economy,” said an official at KB Kookmin Card.

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]
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