South Korea’s travel account recorded a surplus of $220.5 million in May, marking the third consecutive month of surplus. This positive trend was driven by an increase in foreign visitors, with travel income totaling $2.58 billion, surpassing travel spending of $2.36 billion. The number of foreign visitors to South Korea in May rose by 19.4 percent compared to the previous year, while the number of South Koreans traveling abroad decreased by 2.1 percent.
Separate data revealed that each foreign visitor spent an average of $1,324 in South Korea, while each South Korean traveler spent $1,007 overseas. The surge in foreign visitor numbers was attributed to the rising popularity of the Korean Wave and the weakened won currency. On the other hand, higher airfares due to the Middle East conflict deterred South Koreans from traveling abroad, according to Kim Nam-jo, a tourism professor at Hanyang University.
Moreover, pension funds, including the National Pension Service (NPS), became net buyers of local equities in South Korea for the first time this year. Data from the Korea Exchange showed that these funds purchased a net 68.4 billion won (US$46.8 million) worth of shares on the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) in July. This marked a shift from six consecutive months of net selling to net buying, indicating renewed investor confidence in the South Korean stock market.
