[Customs Service Betrayal] Peruvian Companies Claim "Korean Customs Authoritative, Unauthorized Use of Equipment"

Investigation of Peru Mung Bean Origin by Incheon Customs
"Korean Customs Did Not Listen to Peruvian Officials"
"Claims of Unauthorized Access to Peruvian Company Data"

Incheon Customs has been found to have conducted an inappropriate investigation into the origin of mung beans from Peru. It is claimed that although the formal legal requirements were met, the investigation on-site was conducted with a high-handed attitude, failing to sufficiently guarantee the opportunity for the parties involved to explain. In particular, there have been reports that Peruvian officials accompanying the investigation on-site were uncooperative with the Korean customs authorities.

Currently, the Korea Customs Service is conducting an investigation to verify the origin of Peruvian mung beans imported into the country. To conduct the on-site investigation, Incheon Customs dispatched staff to Peru in April and August of last year. Among the Peruvian companies and farmers who were investigated at the time, complaints arose that customs officers maintained a high-handed attitude throughout.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Regarding this report by our newspaper (reference article: [Exclusive] Incheon Customs’ On-site Investigation of ‘Peruvian Mung Beans’ Suspected of Being Inadequate), the Korea Customs Service rebutted, stating, “The on-site origin investigation was lawfully conducted in close consultation with Peruvian authorities in accordance with the Korea-Peru Free Trade Agreement and related laws,” and “According to the Korea-Peru Free Trade Agreement, Peruvian government officials accompanied the on-site origin investigation.”

However, controversy over the investigation methods of Korean customs remains among Peruvian companies. A Peruvian businessperson who was investigated by Incheon Customs during the official August investigation stated, “The (accompanying) Peruvian government officials were not very helpful,” adding, “This was because the Korean verification team did not even try to listen to the Peruvian officials.” They further claimed, “Although we were very cooperative in showing and explaining the overall situation of our business, Korean customs did not trust this.”

"Reports of Downloading Accounting Data Without Company Consent"

They continued, “Peru still conducts transactions based on informal practices, and rural areas in Peru are accustomed to this culture, so sometimes providing information is difficult or inaccurate,” and criticized, “Incheon Customs has an authoritative attitude and did not try to understand the difficulties related to how complicated business processes are in Peru.”

There were also reports that Peruvian officials showed an uncooperative attitude during the investigation. It was reported that while investigating companies and farmers, Peruvian officials were playing mobile phone games and displaying other uncooperative behaviors. The verification team from Incheon Customs present at the scene reportedly did not raise any issues regarding this behavior.

As a result, there are criticisms that the Korea Customs Service only met the necessary legal requirements for the investigation but did not faithfully carry out the actual on-site investigation. According to the Korea-Peru Free Trade Agreement (FTA), when conducting on-site verification in the counterpart country, officials from that country must accompany the investigation. This is to fully understand the local situation and protect the nationals of the country. However, many Peruvians have expressed that this was not sufficiently guaranteed during the investigation.

In particular, complaints have arisen that Korean customs conducted information searches and data collection without consent. A representative from the Korea Grain Distribution Association criticized, “The customs officers who conducted the on-site verification in Peru reportedly searched for information on company computers and downloaded accounting data onto USB drives without obtaining the consent of the Peruvian companies when visiting them.”

The Korea Customs Service did not respond to inquiries regarding the attitude of Peruvian officials or the controversy over unauthorized use of devices on-site.