By Bae Ji-sook
Thirty-two-year-old Kim Keong-hye always does her last-minute shopping at the airport duty free shops on her way back to Korea.
“It’s quite heavy to carry all the items on the journey if I shop at Incheon International Airport before departure. If there were shops at the arrivals section, I would be happy to shop in Incheon because the selection at the duty free shops here are better than anywhere else,” she said.
To help globaltrotters like Kim and encourage them to spend their money in Korea, Rep. Byeon woong-jeon of the opposition Liberty Forward Party submitted a bill to the National Assembly Monday to premit the establishment of duty free stores at the arrivals section of international airports in Korea.
“About 660 billion won a year is spent at foreign duty free stores. It is time we open our eyes to being more flexible and practical,” Byeon said. “We need to establish duty free shops at the arrivals sections where tourists can buy goods more conveniently with the Korean won.”
He said there are 111 airports in 62 countries which operate duty free shops at the arrivals section.
Over the past several years, such ideas have been pushed by some politicians but were thwarted by strong resistance from the Korea Customs Office and airline companies.
The customs administration cited that the customs inspection process would become even more complicated and it would be harder to detect drugs and other illegal smuggling.
Airlines also claim that the establishment of a duty-free shop at arrivals could cause huge confusion at immigration and baggage claim, which could eventually harm national image and competitiveness.
“If there were a duty free shop at the arrivals section, people would be running around to shop instead of claiming their baggage, going to the immigration booth and finishing the arrival procedure. The carriers and the airport management would have to carry the burden of leftover baggage and other delays,” an airline company spokesman said. “The association of the flight companies using Incheon airport has officially opposed the establishment for such reasons. Incheon International Airport’s strength is the swift management from immigration to baggage claim among other attributes. We should not damage that,” he added.
However, the resistance from carriers reflects their concern that more duty free shops would undermine their income base from in-flight duty free sales.
According to industry insiders, Korean Air, the flagship carrier, made 168 billion won from in-flight duty free sales and Asiana Airlines made 82.2 billion won last year. Since the business requires no additional space or staff, in-flight duty free shops are considered golden eggs for the airline companies.
“It’s natural that their sales will decline once duty free shops open at the arrivals sectors,” an insider said.
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