Exchange rate

It's peak summer vacation season, a time when some travelers look forward to bargains at the airport duty-free shops. But the deals don't seem so good right ...

with duty-free limits for Koreans to be raised for the first time in 8 years from the current $600 U.S. dollars to $800 U.S. dollars. This means that depending on the exchange rate at the time of sale, up to 60 percent of the price difference is returned in cash-like reward points. The current won to U.S. dollar exchange rate is hovering around 1,300 won compared to 1,134 won a year ago. Travelers may be returning to airports but are skipping the chance to do some duty-free shopping. But the current soaring exchange rate is making this concept a thing of the past. But the duty-free industry that had anticipated a parallel recovery have been left with virtually no customers with more staff at stores than shoppers.