Year-End Special Crackdown on 'Overseas Direct Purchase Reselling'... Punishment for Smuggling

Exterior view of the Korea Customs Service Seoul Customs building. Provided by Korea Customs Service

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] A special crackdown will be conducted on the act of reselling products purchased through overseas direct purchase within the country. In such cases, if caught, one may be punished for smuggling, so caution is required.

The Seoul Customs Headquarters of the Korea Customs Service announced on the 26th that from next month 1st to January 31st of next year, a special crackdown will be launched to eradicate the act of 'reselling overseas direct purchase products.'

This measure is in preparation for the surge in overseas direct purchase volumes around China's Guanggun Festival and the US Black Friday period, and the increasing cases of reselling products brought in as express shipments.

During the special crackdown period, Seoul Customs plans to closely monitor the reselling of overseas direct purchase products and immediately initiate investigations if illegal activities are confirmed.

In particular, they plan to focus on illegal cases that evade punishment by abusing customs guidance, such as repeatedly using multiple IDs or using another person's name to avoid the crackdown.

A Seoul Customs official stated, "Bringing in goods without paying taxes for the purpose of direct use by the buyer and then reselling them domestically is a clear violation of the Customs Act," adding, "Customs will prevent and deter such cases through the special crackdown and punish those caught for smuggling."