Koh Kwang-hyo, Commissioner of Korea Customs Service, "Fully Prepared to Respond to Uncertain Domestic and International Conditions"

"The conditions for customs administration are not expected to be easy in the new year either. The Korea Customs Service will do its utmost to respond to uncertain domestic and international environments through future prediction and preparation," said Ko Gwang-hyo, Commissioner of the Korea Customs Service, in his New Year's address on the 1st.

Commissioner Ko diagnosed, "As countries around the world strengthen trade protectionism and domestic economic growth momentum stagnates, emergency signals have been triggered in the import-export industry. Attempts to smuggle illegal and hazardous goods continue, and as trade crimes become more sophisticated, social safety is also threatened."

He added, "These conditions, which have become more severe than last year, are precisely why we (the Korea Customs Service) have no choice but to continue smart innovation."

Koh Kwang-hyo, Commissioner of the Korea Customs Service. Source=Asia Economy DB

Commissioner Ko presented key tasks for the Korea Customs Service in the new year, including resolving aggressive protectionist trade barriers and supporting economic recovery, fundamentally blocking hazardous goods for public safety, establishing economic security and fair trade order, and leading global customs administration.

First, Commissioner Ko plans to prepare response strategies that maximize national interests for each FTA negotiation with countries, including new, implementation, and renegotiation phases, and to create a more favorable trade environment for domestic companies by supporting the discovery of alternative trading partners through upgrades to the supply chain early warning system.

Regarding non-tariff barriers with high feasibility such as quotas and strategic goods export controls, preemptive support measures will be implemented. To minimize difficulties in overseas customs clearance, improvements to the inter-country electronic certificate of origin exchange system and strengthening of mutual recognition agreements (MRA) for Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) companies in export-import safety management will be pursued.

The Korea Customs Service will participate in government-wide policies for economic recovery by continuously revising on-site regulations that hinder corporate activities and placing greater emphasis on preventive inspections to minimize customs risks for companies.

Efforts to eradicate the surge in smuggling of illegal and hazardous goods will also be strengthened. To this end, Commissioner Ko emphasized upgrading the smart drug enforcement system to version 2.0, expanding cooperation with domestic and international agencies, and rapidly deploying cutting-edge equipment such as thermal imaging detectors, millimeter-wave body scanners, and Raman spectrometers at airports and ports nationwide.

Additionally, to protect consumers from various illegal activities exploiting e-commerce, platform management and the security of personal customs clearance codes will be strengthened, and expansion of safety inspections will be promoted.

He also clearly stated the intention to take the lead in protecting national security and national interests by strengthening crackdowns on the malicious smuggling of strategic goods. Furthermore, to enhance punishment and enforcement against trade and foreign exchange crimes, collaborative crackdowns on import price and origin manipulation and the introduction of regular foreign exchange inspections to expand target companies will be implemented.

Commissioner Ko plans to focus customs capabilities on positioning Korea as a global hub country through free trade amid intensifying external protectionist conflicts. Korea, as the APEC chair country, will host the Customs Procedures Sub-Committee (SCCP) in February and July this year. The Korea Customs Service will concentrate on preparing for the committee meetings to lead trade facilitation among the 21 member countries.

Also, as the establishment of international standards for certificate of origin exchange led by Korea at the World Customs Organization (WCO) is in its final stages, the Korea Customs Service plans to continue discovering its strengths, nurturing global experts to implement these standards, and advancing into international organizations to secure the next standards.

Commissioner Ko said, "Even in severe domestic and international environments, a responsible attitude is required for the Korea Customs Service to unwaveringly perform its duties to meet the trust of the people and companies. As the saying goes, 'Failing to prepare is preparing to fail,' the Korea Customs Service will do its best to predict the future and prepare in advance to resolve deepening uncertainties."