Korea Customs Service detects 1.076 trillion won in tax evasion and violations

The Korea Customs Service has reported significant enforcement actions against tax evasion and unfair trade practices. Between January and July, the agency detected approximately 1.076 trillion won in tax evasion and regulatory violations, including 176 billion won in direct tax evasion and 162.3 billion won in origin marking violations.

A special crackdown on the misuse of quota tariffs—designed to stabilize consumer prices—revealed that 10 companies engaged in illegal activities totaling 546.8 billion won, with 58.6 billion won identified specifically as tax evasion. Methods included inflating import prices to transfer profits abroad, using shell companies to monopolize low-tariff volumes, and illegally stockpiling essential goods like beef, sugar, and frozen mackerel to manipulate market supply.

In response, Commissioner Lee Jong-wook announced plans to strengthen oversight by expanding the scope of investigations to include entire import-export supply chains. The agency is also pursuing legislative amendments to the Customs Act to shorten import declaration deadlines for key items and increase penalties for delayed reporting to prevent market manipulation and protect domestic manufacturing.