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The Korea Times

By Nam Hyun-woo
The Korea Customs Service (KCS) said Thursday that it will push ahead with the selection of new duty free shop operators in South Korea as scheduled, stirring controversy over its appropriateness.
The move comes amid the unprecedented corruption and influence-peddling scandal involving President Park Geun-hye and her confidant Choi Soon-sil.
The KCS said it has notified five major retailers ― Lotte Duty Free, HDC Shilla Duty Free, SK Networks and Shinsegae DF ― that a screening process will take place from Dec. 15 to 17 and the result will be announced on the last day of the screening. 
In the selection, the KCS will grant new licenses to three conglomerates to operate new duty free shops in Seoul and three small- and medium-sized enterprises to run shops in Seoul, Busan and Gangwon Province.
The KCS reportedly selected Dec. 17, Saturday, to avoid any controversy regarding the new licenses and prevent a possible stock market stir stemming from an information leak.
However, questions are still being raised over the appropriateness of the announcement.
The KCS is currently under the prosecution’s investigation over suspicions that some conglomerates have been given favours in the selection of duty free shops in return for their “donation” to Mir and K-Sports foundations, which were under control of Choi.
Also, there are lingering allegations that Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won requested that Park restore their duty free licenses in private meetings. Lotte and SK were stripped of their licenses to operate duty free shops in Seoul in November last year, but managed to get an opportunity to restore them as the KCS announced the new selection plan in April.
These are suspicions included in Park’s impeachment bill which is scheduled for a National Assembly vote on Friday.
Over the past 15 years, the government did not issue additional licenses for duty free shops, but suddenly granted licenses in Seoul for five conglomerates in July and November last year. And it announced it will increase the number of duty free shops in Seoul through the April plan.
While announcing the plan, the KCS cited a Korea Institute for International Economic Policy expectation that the number of foreign tourists to Seoul would grow 880,000 in 2015 from a year earlier.
A month after the plan was announced, however, the actual tally from the Korea Culture & Tourism Institute showed that the number of foreign tourists to Seoul last year was decreased by 1 million.
While controversy was stirring in the political sector, six KCS officials were prosecuted last year for benefiting in the stock market with non-public information that Hanwha would earn a new license.
The KCS said the reason to push forward with the plan as scheduled: “… is to ensure that companies in the process have consistency in the government’s policy over duty free shop licenses.”
It added that it can scrap licenses granted to firms if they were found to be involved in the scandal.
Customs service under fire for pressing on with duty free selection


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Korea Times

Korea customs service under fire for pressing on with duty free selection amid Park scandal

Chinese tourists buy cosmetic products at Lotte Duty Free Shop in Jung-gu, central Seoul. Photo: Korea Times

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Asia

East Asia

Selection will be held on December 17 to avoid information leak that will possibly cause a stir in the stock market


Park Geun-hye

South Korea