Data released by The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) indicate that Korea-based credit card company Shinhan Card and other four local credit card companies report a 42.3 percent decrease in net earnings in H1 2008, accounting for 1.1 trillion won (USD 988.57 million).

Their combined revenues have grown by 19 percent to 6.2 trillion won (USD 5.57 billion) within the same period. Such an increase is the result of consumers' initiative to pay for goods and services by means of plastic cards for discounts and tax benefits. Among the causes that have led to such a decline in profit, the regulator mentions  the increasing number of corporate income taxes that plastic issuers had to pay, as compared with 2007, as well as the increasing competition among such issuers.

Figures revealed by non-profit organisation Credit Finance Association reveal that during the first half of 2008, the use of cards, including cash withdrawals and cash advances, has climbed by 14.2 percent over the corresponding period of 2007, totalling 227.7 trillion won (USD 204.63 billion).

At the end of June 2008, there were 93 million credit cards issued in Korea, over 89.6 million reported at the end of H1 2007. According to such data, every Korean cardholder has 3.78 cards on average, the second highest figure reported worldwide, after 5.3 registered in US.