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Imported cosmetics at a store in Seoul.

Retail prices for imported perfume and women’s swimwear are being marked up as much as eight times from their import price, Korea Customs Service figures show.

The service announced import prices for another 15 products on Dec. 5, after a similar list for ten items last April. The latest examination showed markups of anywhere from 2.1 to 8.4 times the import price, it said.

Other items on the list included face powder (a markup of 6.4 times), leather belts (3.8), dog food (3.8), chocolate (3.5), sunglasses (3.5), women’s jeans (3.4), leather wallets (3.4), wristwatches (3.3), sleeping bags (3.2), hair dryers (3.1), leather handbags (3.1), beer (2.7), and digital cameras (2.1).

For women’s swimwear, the import price for the most commonly imported variety was 4,267 won (US$3.80), while the actual product was sold for 45,000 won (US$40.12) - a difference of more than ten times. A more expensive variety was imported for 63,459 won (US$56.59) and retailed for 222,667 won (US$198.54). On average, women’s swimwear sold for 8.4 times the import price, the study found.

The chief source for swimwear imports was China (59.7%), followed by Indonesia (19%), Vietnam (17.3%), Japan (1%), and Cambodia (1%).

Another price bubble was found for perfumes and colognes. The most commonly imported scent had an average import price of 8,308 won (US$7.41) and a retail price of no less than 91,333 won (US$81.44) - a difference of 10.99 times. Another variety imported for 19,627 won (US$17.50) sold for 88,077 won (US$78.53), while a 14,281 won (US$12.73) import went for an average of 87,000 won (US$77.57).

France accounted for 48.7% of scent imports, followed by Italy (21.8%), the US (20.8%), and the United Kingdom (4.4%).

The average import price for the items includes freight charges, insurance, duties, and value-added taxes. For the study, it was compared with the average fixed retail price at South Korean department stores, official brand stores, and online shopping malls.

Items were classified into two to three categories by import price to calculate averages. Retail prices for domestic products similar to the 15 items examined were found to range between 1.5 and six times factory prices.

The service also reexamined prices for 10 items that were previously disclosed in April, including imported lipstick and wine. The results found continued markups of anywhere from 2.9 to 9.7 times import prices. Lipstick sold for 9.66 times the import price. Wine showed markups of 5.52 times for Chilean imports, 4.18 times for French ones, and 5.15 for American ones.

“Part of this has to do with the monopolistic distribution structure,” the Korea Customs Service said. “And because domestic retail prices are set by marketing strategy rather than by market competition, a market structure has taken shape where South Korean consumers pay more for the same products than their counterparts overseas.”

By Kim So-youn, staff reporter

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