The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said it will form special control teams together with officials from the Seoul Metropolitan Government and other agencies to clamp down on overcharging and other illegal acts by taxis, shops, accommodations and other service providers catering to foreign tourists.

The special teams will also increase patrols near the city's major tourist attractions to prevent various crimes targeting foreigners.

"By providing customized security services, we will demonstrate the kind and trustworthy image of Seoul police and put efforts to make Seoul a city foreigners want to come back to," a police official said.

Visitors and shoppers from the two countries during the period had helped boost South Korea's economy.

he number of Chinese visitors to South Korea, however, is expected to plunge during the holiday season due to Beijing's retaliation against Seoul over a missile defense system.

The number of Chinese tourists last month dropped 39.4 percent from a year ago, an immediate result of Beijing prohibiting group tours to South Korea.

In contrast to a downturn in Chinese visitors, the number of Japanese tourists here has been on a steady rise this year. In the first two months of this year, 339,000 Japanese visited South Korea, up 20.8 percent from the previous year. (Yonhap)