Koreans' overseas card spending dips 40 pct in Q1

By Park Bo-ram
SEOUL, May 28 (Yonhap) -- Overseas credit card spending by South Korean residents
dived 40 percent in the first quarter as fewer people traveled abroad owing to an
economic slump and a weak local currency, the central bank said Thursday.

Overseas credit card usage reached US$1.1 billion in the January-March quarter,
compared with $1.8 billion a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
Compared with the previous quarter, the figure is also down 13.1 percent, it said.
The decrease came as overseas trips dropped sharply as the economy, Asia's
fourth-largest, remained in a slump and the Korean won plunged against the U.S.
dollar, it said.
The economy shrank 4.3 percent on-year in the first three months of the year, the
worst performance in nearly 11 years. The economy is expected to contract 2.4
percent this year, due to falling exports and anemic domestic demand.
The local currency unit lost 8.7 percent against the greenback in the first quarter.
pbr@yna.co.kr
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