Democratic Party's Kim Young-bae: "90% Decrease in Japanese Beer Imports in Q2... Boycott Continues"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] It has been revealed that the boycott of Japanese products continues.

According to the '2020 Japanese Consumer Goods Import Performance' data submitted through the Korea Customs Service, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kim Young-bae announced on the 10th that imports of Japanese consumer goods such as automobiles and beer decreased by 27.3% compared to the same period last year.

In the second quarter, the import value of Japanese beer decreased by 90.4% compared to the same period last year, and the import value of passenger cars plummeted by 65.6%. Cigarettes also decreased by an average of 93.3% compared to the second quarter of the previous year. According to data released by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry on the 26th of last month, the share of South Korea's imports from Japan was 9.5%, marking the first time since the export-import statistics began in 1965 that it fell to a single digit.

Lawmaker Kim said, "Seven out of ten Koreans still have a positive perception of the boycott of Japanese products," adding, "The boycott is prolonged, and consumers still have negative reactions to Japanese products."

He continued, "From the consumer's perspective, among the boycotted Japanese products, there were certainly goods and brands that were familiar or preferred according to taste," and said, "However, despite the inconvenience, consumers are diligently seeking alternatives and are still acting 'like consumers,' responding rationally to the rudeness of the Abe administration."