Kim Byunghwan, Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance, "Measures to Revitalize Foreign Tourism in the First Half of the Year"

Kim Byung-hwan, 1st Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

Kim Byung-hwan, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, said on the 8th, "We will prepare measures to revitalize foreign tourists visiting Korea in the first half of this year to become a driving force for domestic demand recovery."

On the same day, Vice Minister Kim met with representatives of the Myeongdong Merchants Association in the Myeongdong area of Jung-gu, Seoul, and stated, "As the global reputation of traveling to Korea continues to rise, it is leading to an increase in foreign tourists."

This visit was arranged to inspect the current status of inbound tourism and to listen to the industry's suggestions and difficulties. According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, inbound tourists have been increasing since 2022, mainly from China and Japan. After surpassing 10 million last year, the upward trend has continued in January and February of this year.

Vice Minister Kim also visited Lotte Duty Free to understand the consumption trends of foreign tourists. He emphasized, "We will spare no effort to provide multifaceted support so that the export of K-content such as dramas, music, and webtoons, which is expanding globally, can be connected to overseas market development for excellent small and medium-sized enterprises' products."