Over 550 Billion Won Spent on Corporate Cards at Entertainment Establishments Last Year… 302.6 Billion Won at Room Salons

▲ A commercial area in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, where many entertainment establishments are clustered

Corporate card spending at adult entertainment establishments exceeded 500 billion won last year.

Over the past six years, the total amount spent on corporate cards at such establishments reached nearly 3 trillion won.

According to data provided by the National Tax Service and the Credit Finance Association to lawmaker Moon Jin-seok of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly's Strategy and Finance Committee, corporate card expenditures at entertainment venues totaled 551.6 billion won last year.

This accounted for 0.3% of the total corporate card usage of 204.6606 trillion won last year.

Corporate card spending at entertainment establishments dropped sharply from 439.8 billion won in 2020 to 212 billion won in 2021, before rising again to 563.8 billion won in 2022 and 624.4 billion won in 2023.

It subsequently declined for two consecutive years, recording 596.2 billion won in 2024.

Although corporate culture is changing with fewer company dinners, the persistence of business entertaining customs appears to have kept corporate card payments at entertainment venues above 500 billion won.

Over the six years from 2020 until last year, total corporate card spending at entertainment establishments amounted to 2.9878 trillion won.

By category of entertainment venue last year, room salons accounted for the largest share at 302.6 billion won, followed by danran jujeom (casual drinking establishments with singing facilities) at 117.3 billion won, cabaret-style restaurants (entertainment venues featuring shows or performances) at 48.8 billion won, nightclubs at 14.7 billion won, and other entertainment bars at 68.2 billion won.

Corporate card spending at golf courses was tallied at 1.9726 trillion won last year.

Although down 4.2% from a year earlier, it has consistently remained around 2 trillion won since 2021.

A portion of corporate card spending at golf courses is also believed to consist of entertainment-related expenses.

Lawmaker Moon Jin-seok emphasized, "The fact that more than half of the corporate cards swiped at entertainment venues were used at room salons means that practices of business entertaining still persist," adding, "Tax authorities must continuously monitor the use of corporate cards at entertainment establishments."

(Photo: Yonhap News)

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