The government and the ruling party are pushing to raise the departure levy from 7,000 won to 20,000 won. It has been two years since it was lowered from 10,000 won to 7,000 won under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration on the grounds of eliminating "shadow taxes."
The government and the ruling party say that cuts to the departure levy have reduced the Tourism Promotion and Development Fund, stifling investment in tourism infrastructure, and that it is not equitable for Korea to lower the levy while major countries around the world are raising their departure taxes. In fact, the departure levy plunged from 335.8 billion won in 2024 to 264.3 billion won last year.
◇ Cut by 3,000 won under Yoon, likely to raise it in two years
On Feb. 23, the Culture. Sports. and Tourism Committee of the National Assembly tabled a bill to amend the Tourism Promotion and Development Fund Act. The bill, led by Rep. Cho Gye-won of the Democratic Party of Korea on Dec. 5 last year, would raise the departure levy from 7,000 won to 20,000 won. At the full committee meeting, Cho said, "Since the departure levy system was introduced in 1997, it has never been raised," adding, "We proposed 20,000 won to reflect cumulative inflation."
The departure levy is a charge imposed on travelers leaving the country via airports or seaports. It is imposed to cover tourism fiscal losses caused by outbound travelers' foreign currency expenditure and is used as a source for the Tourism Promotion and Development Fund. Since the system was introduced in 1997, airport departures have paid 10,000 won and seaport departures 1,000 won.
The departure levy was cut once under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration. As the administration lowered or abolished various charges under the pretext of eliminating "shadow taxes," the departure levy was reduced from 10,000 won to 7,000 won. Exemptions from the departure levy were also expanded.
Since the Lee Jae-myung administration took office last year, the Democratic Party has pushed to restore the departure levy and, further, to raise it. At an MCST work briefing on Dec. 16 last year, President Lee Jae-myung said a hike was needed, and Minister Chae Hwi-young signaled an increase, saying, "The average departure levy in the top 10 countries most visited by our citizens is 29,000 won, but foreigners traveling to Korea pay only 7,000 won."
Rep. Cho Gye-won's amendment followed this trend. The amendment was introduced on Dec. 5 last year and was tabled at the MCST full committee meeting last month, steadily moving through the revision process. With both the government and the ruling party in agreement on raising the levy, passage in a plenary session does not appear difficult. At the National Assembly audit in Oct. last year, Second Vice Minister Kim Dae-hyun of the MCST, when asked about the matter, said, "Considering inflation, 20,000 won seems about right."
◇ Others are raising it while we lowered it… departure tax deficit puts tourism fund on red alert
Major countries around the world are, in fact, raising their departure taxes. They impose departure taxes on foreign tourists and invest the proceeds in tourism infrastructure. Japan, a popular destination for our citizens, currently levies 1,000 yen but plans to raise it to 3,000 yen this year. If raised to 3,000 yen, the departure tax our citizens pay to the Japanese government is projected to reach 248.7 billion won a year. Given that Japanese citizens pay only 22.6 billion won to our government, that amounts to a deficit of more than 200 billion won.
The situation is much the same in most countries frequently visited by our citizens, including Vietnam, Thailand, the United States, the Philippines and Singapore. Of the top 10 countries our citizens visit, only Spain has no departure tax.
There are also concerns about the finances of the Tourism Promotion and Development Fund, which is funded by the departure levy. The levy was increasing every year as the COVID-19 period wound down. It rose to 66.7 billion won in 2022, 288.8 billion won in 2023 and 335.8 billion won in 2024. However, after the levy was cut in 2024, it fell to 264.3 billion won in 2025. Revenue for the Tourism Promotion and Development Fund also decreased from 602.8 billion won in 2024 to 561.5 billion won in 2025.
At a forum hosted by Rep. Cho Gye-won's office in Nov. last year, Yoon Hye-jin, a professor in the Department of Tourism Development and Management at Kyonggi University, said, "The tourism account deficit in our country begins at the airport," and noted, "Cutting the departure levy is the fundamental cause undermining the foundations of the tourism industry."
Some, however, say that because a hike in the departure levy effectively raises taxes, it is important to gather public opinion. In a review report on the bill, Kim Yong-kyu, a senior expert at the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, said, "The Ministry of Economy and Finance agrees with the legislative intent to stipulate in law the amount of the departure levy that is delegated to the enforcement decree, but believes that the appropriate level of the levy should be reviewed carefully, considering public burden, the financial capacity of the Tourism Promotion and Development Fund and overseas cases."
On this, Professor Yoon suggested, "If the tax is about the price of a cup of coffee, it is important to recognize that 'my contribution is used for tourism development,'" and added, "Publicizing transparent uses and running promotional campaigns in parallel will reduce tax resistance."