Credit card spending by foreign nationals in South Korea recorded the biggest drop last year due to the outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome(MERS).
 
According to data compiled by the Credit Finance Association on Monday, card spending by foreigners marked ten-point-05 billion U.S. dollars last year, down 13-point-two percent year-on-year. That’s the largest drop since related data was first compiled in 2001.
 
The amount of money foreigners spent using UnionPay cards, which are mostly used by Chinese tourists for payment, plunged seven-point-nine percent last year.
 
The association said that card spending by foreigners declined as the number of tourists to South Korea decreased six-point-eight percent last year after the outbreak of MERS.
 
Meanwhile, overseas card spending by South Koreans reached 13-point-26 billion dollars to hit an all-time high last year, up eight-point-seven percent from the previous year.