Cabinet approves faster tax refund decree for foreign tourists

The government Tuesday approved a decree that would allow foreign tourists to claim a tax refund up to 50,000 won ($43) without visiting customs offices.
  

Currently, foreigners must present products and receipts at the customs service when the refunded value added tax is more than 10,000 won.
  

The decree approved at a Cabinet meeting presided over by Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn would enhance the convenience of foreign tourists and help them save time at airports.
  

The ordinance is subject to a parliamentary approval.
  

A record 14.2 million foreigners visited South Korea in 2014, up from just under 12.2 million a year earlier, but the number has nosedived since the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome began on May 20 this year.
  

South Korea's tourism industry has been hit hard by MERS as foreign tourists have shunned South Korea. The disease has claimed 36 lives and sickened 186 people, the largest outbreak outside Saudi Arabia.
  

Seoul declared a de facto end to the outbreak on July 28. (Yonhap)