Lee declares tourism overhaul toward 30m visitors

Feb 26, 2026, 07:52 am

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President Lee Jae-myung enters an expanded National Tourism Strategy Meeting at the presidential office on Feb. 25. From left: Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, Visit Korea Year Committee Chair Lee Boo-jin, President Lee, and Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol.

Lee Jae-myung on Feb. 25 declared a sweeping overhaul of South Korea’s tourism industry, setting a goal of attracting 30 million foreign visitors by 2030 and pledging a firm crackdown on price gouging.

Speaking at an expanded National Tourism Strategy Meeting at the Blue House, Lee said unfair pricing and aggressive touting practices are undermining trust in Korea as a travel destination.

“Price gouging, unkind service and excessive solicitation are malicious abuses that drive travelers away,” Lee said. “They must be rooted out.”

Lee noted that 18.93 million foreign tourists visited Korea last year, a record high, bringing the country close to the 20 million mark.

“To open the era of 30 million foreign visitors by 2030, we must move beyond quantitative growth to a qualitative transformation,” he said.

The president pointed to the structural problem of tourism being heavily concentrated in the capital region.

“With 80 percent of foreign visitors focused on Seoul, there are clear limits to growth if we remain complacent,” Lee said. “The global enthusiasm for K-culture must not remain on screens alone — people around the world should visit Korea and experience it firsthand.”

As a model for regional expansion, Lee cited the “half-price travel” initiative in Gangjin County, where tourists receive 50 percent of their spending back in local vouchers that can be used within the region.

“This is a policy that reduces travel costs while ensuring benefits return to local small businesses,” Lee said, calling for closer cooperation between central and local governments to expand such programs.

Among those attending the meeting was Lee Boo-jin, who serves as chair of the Visit Korea Year Committee and is president of Hotel Shilla.

Lee’s remarks signal a policy shift aimed at restoring confidence in Korea’s tourism sector while distributing the gains of the K-culture boom more evenly across the country.

#Lee Jae-myung #Blue House #National Tourism Strategy Meeting #Visit Korea Year Committee #Lee Boo-jin