[Reporter’s Notebook]“Bookmark Dollars”: So, Is It Really Allowed?

Yonhap News Agency

The president’s work report, broadcast live nationwide, has become a hot topic day after day. It is a positive outcome that citizens can see with their own eyes what public institutions actually do and which civil servants are performing their work properly-something they rarely have the chance to witness. On the other hand, the fact that vulnerabilities that should not have been exposed to the public have been laid bare could be considered a national loss. This refers to the so-called “bookmark dollars” incident.

The scene in which President Lee Jaemyung sternly reprimanded Lee Hakjae, President of the Incheon International Airport Corporation, has not only drawn national attention but has also escalated into a political dispute ahead of next year’s local elections. The substance of the issue has vanished, leaving only the controversy. Rather than focusing on the strict management and supervision of illegal foreign currency smuggling, as mandated by the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, the debate shifted to whether airport security should now be searching actual books during security checks.

It was merely confirmed that it is realistically impossible for the airport corporation president to personally inspect travelers’ books, which only served to highlight weaknesses in the security screening process. Unless every book is inspected at airport checkpoints starting today, there are concerns that public trust in customs authorities and the airport security system will deteriorate. Questions such as “Can I hide foreign currency in a book and take it abroad?” are now even appearing on online forums, travel communities, and social media platforms.

The method of smuggling foreign currency hidden inside books is not unprecedented. Just last year, there was a case in which someone attempted to enter Korea with 130 million won worth of Japanese yen earned as labor income, concealed between the pages of books, and was caught. Airport security staff are not sitting idly by. From the beginning of this year through last month, Incheon International Airport detected and handed over to customs authorities illegal foreign currency outflows totaling as much as 36 billion won.

However, as the number of travelers increases, security screening work is virtually saturated. This year, the number of people expected to use Incheon International Airport is 74 million, which averages about 200,000 per day. If every one of these travelers were to be screened, it would mean processing 8,447 people per hour, or 140 per minute. If all books are treated as potential crime tools in order to catch “bookmark dollars,” who will be responsible for the resulting chaos?

To wisely overcome this controversy, close cooperation between airport and customs authorities is essential. It is hoped that this situation will serve as an opportunity to achieve both passenger convenience and thorough inspection and screening. Lastly, under current law, anyone taking more than 10,000 US dollars overseas must report it to customs, and failure to do so may result in a fine or legal punishment. So, do not even think about attempting it in the first place.