According to the data compiled by the Korea Culture Information Service Agency, the amount of credit card spending by foreign residents in the country reached 10.9 trillion won in 2014, up 38.8 percent from the previous year.
The figure accounts for about 2.4 percent of South Koreans' total credit card spending amounting to 460 trillion won.
By nationality, Chinese took the lion's share of 56.3 percent, followed by Japanese (15.4 percent) and Americans (7.8 percent).
In particular, spending by Chinese jumped 62.6 percent to 6.1 trillion won on-year in 2014, aided by a large influx of Chinese tourists to the country.
Expenditures for shopping nearly halved the foreign residents' total credit card spending last year, totaling 5.2 trillion won, up 44.2 percent from a year earlier; while spending for medical treatment surged 51.3 percent over the cited period, the data said.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
