Gov't to cut departure tax from 10,000 won to 7,000 won

Travelers depart from Incheon International Airport on June 21. [YONHAP]

While many other countries have imposed or increased immigration and tourism taxes, the Korean government has cut the departure tax to lower the burden on travelers.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism announced on Friday that the departure tax will be cut by 3,000 won ($2.17), from 10,000 won to 7,000 won, starting next month. The age exemption from the departure tax will also be raised from under 2 to under 12 years old.

The departure tax is a levy collected from domestic and foreign citizens departing for overseas destinations through domestic airports and seaports. It was introduced in 1997 to promote the tourism industry, including resolving the tourism balance deficit and building domestic tourism infrastructure.

The new tax cut and exemption extension are expected to benefit 47 million people annually.

The reduction in the departure tax will apply to all domestic and foreign citizens departing the country from July 1.

However, for those who booked their tickets before the law came into effect and departed on or after the first of the following month, the Culture Ministry plans to refund the reduced fee as soon as it establishes an online refund claim system for the departure tax, which it is working on with its collection contractors, Incheon International Airport Corporation and Korea Airports Corporation.

Since April this year, the Culture Ministry has been in talks with fiscal authorities to reduce the commission fee for collecting the departure fee (5.5 percent to 4.0 percent) and maintain the size of the government's substantial support for the tourism sector.

"Considering that many countries overseas impose departure taxes and that the departure fee is a source of funding for the Tourism Promotion and Development Fund, we have reviewed the system in a way that will maintain the system but reduce the burden on the public as much as possible," said a Culture Ministry policy official. "We will continue to ensure fairness and transparency in the fee's management in line with the needs of the people who pay the fee."

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]