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| Korea Customs Service (KCS) Commissioner Kim Yung-moon speaks at his office in Daejeon, Dec. 9. Courtesy of KCS |
KCS chief vows to place top priority on helping SMEs
By Lee Kyung-min
Korea is seeking to become a leader in global customs services by offering solutions to complex international clearance procedures in a bid to foster trade relations between local businesses and partner nations worldwide, the head of the state-run customs service agency said Tuesday.
"We have been and will continue to devote the agency's manpower and resources to provide full support for export firms, especially the small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that underpin the economy," Korea Customs Service (KCS) Commissioner Kim Yung-moon said in an interview with The Korea Times.
The commitment was well-illustrated as the KCS under his leadership helped limit the fallout following the ongoing Korea-Japan trade feud that has led to major losses for Korean exporters.
Since March, KCS officials have been dispatched to 30 customs offices nationwide to offer various forms of support, including consulting, technical aid and trade statistics data management.
The support has helped 2,189 SMEs log a combined $2.4 billion (2.8 trillion won) in exports in the March-October period, up 2.2 percent from $2.3 billion the year before.
By contrast, SMEs that had not received the KCS support reported a combined $164.2 billion in exports in the same period, down 4.6 percent from $172.1 billion a year earlier.
"We tried to identify what the firms needed most and came up with ideas on how we could be of assistance. I am glad we were able to fulfill our public duty," Kim said.
His problem-solving capabilities extend to establishing international customs standards, a process he says requires "global customs diplomatic finesse."
In July, the KCS saved a local zinc-coated steelmaker 1.3 billion won in tariffs imposed by Taiwanese customs authorities after the authorities of the East Asian nation accepted the KCS' opinion asking them to reclassify the item as a tariff-exempt product.
Similarly, a team of KCS officials was able to have the Indian customs authorities in March rescind a 10 percent "undue" tariff imposed on Korea-made copy papers categorized as a no-tariff item under the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), a free trade agreement between Korea and India.
This helped a local paper maker not only avoid what could have been an annual tariff of 200 million won, but also cleared the way for similar businesses to enter the market without the uncertainty of hefty, unexpected tariffs.
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| Korea Customs Service (KCS) Commissioner Kim Yung-moon speaks at a World Customs Organization Policy Commission meeting at the JW Marriott Hotel in Seoul, Dec. 3 Courtesy of KCS |
Most significant is that the agency was able to finalize the international standards on display modules, Korea's key export item.
This allowed them to be classified as LCD modules exempt from tariffs in line with the Information Technology Agreement (ITA), a multilateral agreement enforced by the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The process required painstaking efforts to persuade members of the World Customs Organization (WCO), but was well worth it, given it proved Korea's "soft power" with the international customs body comprised of 183 countries representing over 98 percent of international trade.
Kang Tae-il, a senior KCS official, was elected a director of the Capacity Building Directorate at the WCO, whose members look to Korea for training, consulting and multilateral aid utilizing official development assistance (ODA) funds and Customs Cooperation Fund-Korea (CCF-K).
Since 2009, 3,727 customs officials from around the world have undergone training offered by the KCS.
The appointment of Kang boosted KCS' standing on the global stage, coupled with its artificial intelligence-based blockchain customs services in a country recognized for its high-tech infrastructure and ICT expertise.
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| Members of World Customs Organization listen to Korea Customs Service (KCS) Commissioner Kim Yung-moon speak at the JW Marriot Hotel, Seoul, Dec. 3 Courtesy of KCS |
The agency's key achievement is UNI-PASS, a KCS-developed electronic clearance system designed to enhance swift customs clearance and logistics service convenience.
The e-clearance system highly regarded by the KCS's global peers increases work efficiency by minimizing manual errors and improving input accuracy by auto-generation of trade records.
"We will continue our efforts to strengthen influence and boost our say in the international customs circle. We will also become a leading standard setter involving the implementation and revision of related customs practices concerning e-commerce and risk management. This will boost the standing of Korea on the global stage," Kim said.
