The customs authorities of Korea and ASEAN countries are seeking ways to strengthen their mutual cooperation framework in response to the rapidly changing trade environment.
The Korea Customs Service announced that it discussed key cooperation issues with representatives from the customs authorities of the 10 ASEAN countries at the "21st Korea-ASEAN Customs Directors Meeting," which was held via video conference on June 4, 2025.
The Korea-ASEAN Customs Directors Meeting has been held regularly every year since 2005. This year's meeting was attended by Ko Kwanghyo, Commissioner of the Korea Customs Service, as well as representatives from the customs authorities of Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Brunei, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Cambodia.
The Korea Customs Service is discussing key cooperation issues with representatives from the customs authorities of the 10 ASEAN countries at the "21st Korea-ASEAN Customs Directors (Video) Meeting" held on the 4th. Photo by Korea Customs Service
The participants highly praised the meaningful achievements that the customs authorities of Korea and ASEAN have made through joint efforts in trade facilitation and the crackdown on cross-border crimes.
They also reached a consensus on the need to strengthen their mutual cooperation framework in response to the rapidly changing trade environment, which includes global customs policies and supply chain restructuring. Based on this consensus, they discussed the following topics: the progress of the Korea-ASEAN electronic certificate of origin exchange project, cooperation in joint anti-drug operations in the Asia-Pacific region, and collaboration on capacity-building for customs officials.
At the meeting, Commissioner Ko introduced Korea's ongoing pilot project to establish an electronic certificate of origin exchange system with Thailand and the Philippines, and requested the interest and cooperation of ASEAN countries to ensure the smooth implementation of this project.
The electronic certificate of origin exchange system is a platform that enables customs authorities to electronically exchange free trade agreement (FTA) certificate of origin information in real time. This system offers advantages such as simplified procedures, expedited customs clearance, and reduced logistics costs.
Commissioner Ko also shared the results of the Korea-ASEAN joint anti-drug operation conducted in July and August of last year, which resulted in 61 cases and the seizure of 131.8 kilograms of drugs. He encouraged active participation from ASEAN countries in expanding and strengthening this year's joint operations to the Asia-Pacific region.
Additionally, he introduced the capacity-building projects carried out by the Korea Customs Service over the past year and its future plans, emphasizing that cooperation with ASEAN customs authorities in capacity-building will be further strengthened going forward.
Ko Kwanghyo, Commissioner of the Korea Customs Service, stated, "ASEAN countries are not only Korea's major trading partners but also key partners in blocking illegal drugs. The Korea Customs Service will continue to strengthen cooperation with ASEAN countries to ensure that Korea and ASEAN can maintain safe and smooth trade."
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