Arrival duty-free shops to begin selling cigarettes from March

South Korea's finance ministry said Thursday it will allow arrival duty-free shops to sell cigarettes from March, in a move to promote businesses of arrival shops.

The nation's first on-arrival duty-free shops opened at Incheon International Airport, the country's main gateway, in May, but the shops had been banned from selling tobacco.

After revising an ordinance on customs regulations, one person will be allowed to buy one 10-pack carton of cigarettes at arrival duty-free shops from March next year, the ministry said in a statement. 

The ministry also said it will allow other airports and seaports in South Korea to set up arrival duty-free shops.

A survey of 1,000 people found that 60.3 percent of respondents are satisfied with arrival duty-free shops.

However, only 1.5 percent of foreign and Korean nationals who entered the country between May and November, bought goods at arrival shops, the ministry said.

Last year, the government unveiled a plan to allow duty-free shops in arrival terminals in a bid to reduce inconvenience experienced by tourists and boost domestic consumption.

The arrival duty-free shops could create hundreds of jobs, the ministry has said. (Yonhap)