[Graphic News] Duty-free shops suffer sharp drop in sales

South Korean duty-free stores saw their sales drop sharply in March due to the spread of the new coronavirus, industry data showed.

Combined sales of local duty-free shops shrank 1.3 percent on-month to 1.8 trillion won ($1.5 billion) last month, according to the data from the Korea Duty Free Shops Association. The number is down 46.2 percent from January, the data showed.

The number of visitors at duty-free outlets came to 587,879 last month, also down from 1.75 million in February, with foreign nationals accounting for 45 percent of the total. (Yonhap)