지난 3월 면세점 매출 사상 최대... "中 보따리상 영향"

Korean duty free sales hit a record high in March, thanks to an influx of Chinese purchasing agents.
Despite low numbers of group tours following the row over Seoul's missile defesnse upgrade, Beijing's buying agents pushed sales of duty free goods in March to a record high of roughly 16 billion U.S. dollars, marking a sixty-seven-point-four percent on-year rise.
The demand for Korean goods in China still remains strong, driving the agents to commit to a huge volume of purchases.
Some duty free shops opened thirty minutes early to attract these agents who usually come in the morning.
But despite the skyrocketing figures, the shops are seeing relatively sluggish growth in profits.