Passengers line up for check-in at the departure hall of Terminal 1 at Incheon International Airport in Incheon, Jan. 23. Yonhap

Koreans' overseas card spending hit the highest-ever last year on the back of a rise in the number of outbound travelers and overseas direct purchases, data showed Wednesday.

The amount of money spent overseas by Koreans with credit and debit cards came to $21.72 billion last year, up 13 percent from the previous year's $19.22 billion, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The growth came as the number of outbound travelers advanced 26.3 percent on-year to 28.69 million last year.

Overseas direct purchases via credit cards also rose 14 percent from a year earlier to $5.83 billion in 2024, the data showed.

Per-card spending, however, slipped 0.9 percent on-year to $300, according to the data. (Yonhap)