Local residents spent 3.66 billion U.S. dollars overseas via credit, check and debit cards in the April-June quarter, up 19.6 percent from the previous quarter, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
It came as the entry restrictions to help contain the COVID-19 pandemic were moderated around the world, leading to a higher number of South Koreans going abroad.
The number of local residents going on an overseas trip more than doubled to 944,000 in the second quarter from 406,000 in the first quarter.
The overseas use of credit and check cards soared 23.6 percent and 9.0 percent respectively in the second quarter compared to the previous quarter, but the debit cards use declined 11.6 percent.
The number of plastic cards used outside South Korea was 12,331,000 in the second quarter, up 4.0 percent from the previous quarter.
The overseas per-card usage gained 15.0 percent to 297 U.S. dollars in the cited quarter.
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