Intl. air passengers reach record high in first half
A total of 46,029,842 passengers arrived in or left South Korea via international flights between January and June, up 7.6 percent from the same period last year, according to the data compiled by the land ministry, Incheon International Airport Corp. and Korea Airports Corp.
The figure surpassed the previous record of 45.5 million posted in the first half of 2019.
The number of international flights during the six-month period also increased 5.6 percent on-year, also outpacing the previous first-half record set in 2019.
China posted the largest number of air passengers to and from South Korea, with 7.81 million passengers traveling between the two countries via air in the first six months of the year, up 24.3 percent from a year earlier.
Such a sharp increase was partly attributed to the visa-exemption program China implemented for South Korean visitors in November.
Japan followed next, with the number of travelers to and from South Korea jumping 9.9 percent on-year.
Japan has seen a constant wave of South Korean travelers due to a weak yen and, more recently, due to an expansion of flight routes to small cities in Japan.
By airport, some 36 million people traveled via Incheon International Airport, the main gateway to Seoul, while 9.91 million people used six other international airports across the country.
"The demand for international flights reached a record high in the first half due to the normalization of overseas travel centered on China and Japan, as well as supply expansions," an industry official said. "The growth in demand will continue in the second half of the year due to the stabilizing exchange rates and global oil prices." (Yonhap)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
![[Editorial] Power without restraint](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fall-logos-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fkoreaherald.com.png&w=48&q=75){kind=small}
Korea Herald
6 hours ago
- Korea Herald
[Editorial] Power without restraint
A contentious budget vote lays bare deep gulf between power politics, democratic principles Late Friday night, as the nation's attention was focused elsewhere, South Korea's ruling Democratic Party of Korea passed a supplementary budget worth 31.8 trillion won ($23.3 billion). The party acted alone. No opposition lawmakers took part. There was no compromise, no negotiation. This was no routine fiscal exercise. It was the first major budget under President Lee Jae Myung's administration, pushed through just a month after his inauguration. Yet the process followed a now familiar pattern of majoritarian dominance. Backed by its commanding parliamentary majority, the ruling party advanced its agenda without regard for political dialogue or consensus. At the heart of the dispute was an unlikely but revealing issue: 'special activity funds,' allocated to the presidential office and other powerful agencies. Only months ago, the Democratic Party had denounced these funds as slush money and led efforts to eliminate them under the previous administration. Now, with the same party in power, those funds have not only been restored, but expanded — a move that drew immediate accusations of hypocrisy from the conservative People Power Party, which responded by walking out of the vote. This clash over opaque budget items points to a deeper malaise in South Korean politics. Too often, principles voiced in opposition are abandoned once power is secured. The Democratic Party offered no credible explanation for its reversal, nor did it attempt to persuade the opposition to participate in the legislative process. Instead, it proceeded unilaterally — as it did days earlier when confirming Kim Min-seok as prime minister, another vote conducted without opposition lawmakers present. The irony is hard to miss. Lee and his allies have repeatedly called for 'political normalization' to restore stability after years of partisan strife. Yet their approach — marked by unilateral actions and selective memory — could deepen, rather than heal, political divides. The ruling party's justification is straightforward: The economy is in crisis, and swift action is needed. But urgency cannot justify the erosion of democratic procedure and institutional trust. Serious questions also surround the economic merits of the budget. Expanded consumer subsidies may deliver a short-term lift to domestic demand, but economists warn of inflation risks and mounting public debt, which now exceeds 1,300 trillion won. The inclusion of politically contentious items, such as increased special funds, further undermines the credibility of the government's fiscal priorities. Still, the ruling party does not bear sole responsibility for the breakdown. The People Power Party's decision to boycott the process reflects its own reluctance to engage constructively. Rather than confronting the government with reasoned arguments and detailed alternatives, it chose to abstain — a tactic that neither reins in the majority nor earns broader public support. Its tendency to obstruct rather than persuade has become habitual. Nor can the presidential office afford to remain aloof. While the president has urged swift implementation of the budget, general appeals for cooperation ring hollow without tangible efforts to rebuild trust across party lines. Leadership requires more than administrative efficiency; it demands political judgment and the discipline to prioritize long-term democratic stability over short-term political advantage. If both sides persist in this cycle of boycotts and unilateralism, the consequences will reach beyond the National Assembly. South Korea faces severe economic headwinds, geopolitical uncertainty and fragile public confidence. What the country needs is governance that prizes stability over confrontation. Ultimately, the true measure of political strength lies not in the ability to prevail in votes but in the willingness to exercise restraint. Power, used responsibly, can fortify democratic institutions and restore public trust. Without such restraint, the current standoff in Seoul may shift from a story of economic recovery to a cautionary tale of deepening dysfunction.
Korea Herald
21 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Korean e-commerce turns outward amid China's pressing market incursion
Coupang raises stakes in Taiwan market; Kurly eyes US entry after pilot program; Musinsa pushes into two Asian neighbors South Korean e-commerce players are going global not just to offset muted domestic consumption, but also in part to hedge against China's aggressive advance on their home turf. Their international forays come at a time when global fascination with K-food, K-beauty and K-fashion is running high. One successful market entry is that of e-commerce giant Coupang, which has been doubling down on Taiwan since entering the market in 2021, already investing nearly 500 billion won ($367 million) in logistics infrastructure and product sourcing. Earlier this year, the company launched its Rocket Delivery membership in Taiwan while expanding its local delivery network. In the first quarter, the company posted net revenue of over $1 billion in its Developing Offerings segment, which includes its international business, Coupang Eats, Coupang Play and luxury platform Farfetch, marking a 78 percent on-year surge on an FX-neutral basis. Coupang said its growth businesses, particularly its operations in Taiwan, helped drive the increase in earnings. 'We're seeing an increase in repeat customer rates and spending in Taiwan,' Coupang founder and CEO Bom Kim said during an earnings call in May. He added that the more the company invests in the Taiwanese market, the stronger its confidence grows. In January, Coupang re-entered the Japanese market with its food delivery app, Rocket Now, after withdrawing from the country in 2023, this time with a renewed focus on food delivery rather than quick commerce. Other e-commerce companies are also testing the waters. For instance, Kurly plans to begin beta testing its US operations this Tuesday, gathering feedback from local residents on its shopping and delivery services in preparation for a full-scale launch. 'Based on the results of the pilot service, we will adjust our logistics operations and our entry plans,' a Kurly official said. Fashion platform Musinsa is pressing ahead in Japan and China. After establishing its Japanese subsidiary in 2021, it set up its Chinese unit this April. Musinsa CEO Park Joon-mo said that the company will open its first brick-and-mortar store in Shanghai in the second half of this year and roll out physical stores in Japan by the first half of next year. The impetus to enter global markets stems partly from the rapid encroachment of Chinese platforms like AliExpress and Temu, combined with a stark slowdown at home -- domestic online shopping growth plunged to the 5 percent range last year, down from 20.2 percent in 2021, according to Statistics Korea. 'While Chinese platforms have faced recurring quality and privacy concerns, there remains a stable base of demand in Korea,' one industry insider noted. 'Domestic growth is nearing its limits, and the influence of China's price-first platforms is growing rapidly. As of February, AliExpress ranked second in general e-commerce app usage with 8.73 million monthly active users, followed by Temu in third with 7.84 million, both trailing only Coupang, according to WiseApp data. Worse yet for Korean e-commerce firms, one of China's leading platforms alongside AliExpress and Temu, opened two self-operated logistics centers in Korea in April, the first instance of a Chinese e-commerce company owning warehouses on Korean soil. Chinese lifestyle brand Miniso, often regarded as China's equivalent to Korean dollar store chain Daiso, has been making a comeback since last December, most recently opening a flagship store near Seoul's Gangnam Station in June.
Korea Herald
a day ago
- Korea Herald
Top security adviser to visit US for talks on summit, tariffs
South Korea's National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac was set to travel to Washington, D.C., on Sunday for talks with his US counterparts on a wide range of issues that may include a possible summit between South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and US President Donald Trump. During his three-day visit, Wi will also likely discuss the United States' evolving tariff scheme that includes 25 percent reciprocal duties on South Korean goods, as well as sectoral tariffs on automobiles, steel and various other products. The timing of the visit is critical as a 90-day pause of the US' reciprocal tariffs is set to expire Tuesday (US time). In a parallel diplomatic effort, Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo also arrived in Washington on Saturday to lead trade negotiations. Wi's visit also follows the recent cancellation of a Seoul trip by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The cancellation has fueled concerns here over the lack of high-level exchanges between the allies since the political crisis triggered by former President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed martial law bid, which ultimately led to his removal from office. (Yonhap)
