Card spending by Korean residents overseas reached $6.1 billion in the first quarter of this year, approaching the all-time high of $6.11 billion recorded in the fourth quarter of last year.
According to the Bank of Korea on Friday, residents' overseas card spending totaled $6.1 billion in the first quarter, up 14.2% from $5.35 billion in the same period a year earlier. Compared with the previous quarter, which marked a record high, the figure fell 0.1%, effectively holding at a similar level.
While overseas direct online shopping purchases declined, the rise in the number of Koreans traveling abroad pushed up overseas card spending, the analysis showed.
Overseas direct online shopping purchases rose from $1.35 billion in the first quarter of last year to $1.55 billion in the second quarter. The figure then moved to $1.53 billion in the third quarter and $1.55 billion in the fourth quarter, before falling 13.1% from the previous quarter to $1.35 billion in the first quarter of this year.
By contrast, the number of Koreans traveling abroad rose steadily. According to the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute's Tourism Knowledge & Information System, the number of Korean outbound travelers fell from 7.797 million in the first quarter of last year to 6.767 million in the second quarter. However, it then rose to 7.093 million in the third quarter, 7.893 million in the fourth quarter, and 8.331 million in the first quarter of this year.
By card type, credit card spending fell 1.3% from $4.153 billion in the fourth quarter of last year to $4.1 billion in the first quarter of this year. By contrast, debit card spending rose 2.4% over the same period, from $1.957 billion to $2.003 billion.
Meanwhile, card spending by non-residents in Korea totaled $3.57 billion in the first quarter of this year, down 5.4% from $3.78 billion in the fourth quarter of last year. However, the figure rose 30.2% compared with $2.74 billion in the same period a year earlier.
