Seoul to issue four more duty-free licenses

SEJONG, April 29 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean government said Friday that it will issue four additional licenses to operate duty-free shops in Seoul in a bid to meet rising demand from Chinese tourists for non-taxable goods.

The Korea Customs Service (KCS) said it will pick four local retailers to let them open new duty-free shops in Seoul, adding to the current nine.

Duty-free stores, mostly run by retail giants, such as Lotte Group, posted a combined 9.2 trillion won (US$8 billion) in sales last year, with an average 15.1-percent growth over the past decade, on the back of robust demand from Chinese tourists.

brk@yna.co.kr
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