Household Spending on Import Goods Reached 22% Last Year

Demand for high-end luxurious goods such as import hard liquor, golf sticks and import cars increased sharply last year, accounting for 22.1% of household consumption on goods.

According to Bank of Korea on March 23, spending on imports goods stood at 9.0% of the total household spending in 1998 after the breakout of the financial crisis, down from 2.3% a year earlier. The figure, however, rose again to 12.4% in 1999, 15.8% in 2000 and 17.9% in 2001.

Given that import goods only accounted for 9 to 10% of the total household consumption until 1997, in particular, the increase over the last few years is seen fast-paced.

BOK explained that the surge came in line with growing imports of expensive commodities and agricultural products from China and Southeast Asia as well as strong demand for luxurious goods.

˝Strong sales of homemade goods will lead to booming production and investments at home, which can create more jobs in turn,˝ said Jung Young-taek, manager at BOK Public Consumption Statistics Department. ˝People need to spend less on luxurious high-end goods if consumption of commodity goods are inevitable.

Kwu-Jin Lim mhjh22@donga.com