S. Korea's contraband trade plunges in 2015: data

SEOUL, Feb. 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's contraband trade fell sharply in 2015 from a year ago as the government made a concerted effort to crack down on illegal drugs and foreign exchange law violations, the Korea Customs Service (KCS) said Tuesday.

The agency said it detected and confiscated 7.14 trillion won (US$5.94 billion) worth of illegal goods and unlawful transactions in 2015, down 23 percent from 9.24 trillion won tallied in the previous year. It said there were 3,998 contraband cases, down 3 percent from 4,115 in 2014.

"The government is committed to dealing firmly with illegal trade that can endanger the lives of people and disrupt normal economic activity," the customs service said.

The KCS defines contraband as improperly declared goods, banned substances like narcotics, goods that cannot be traded legally and foreign exchange-related violations.

It also said 4,136 people were apprehended for trying to smuggle goods in and out of the country, a drop of 6 percent from 4,382 caught in the previous year.

In 2015, there was a 42 percent surge in illegal drug trafficking that was ferreted out by authorities, while the number of improperly declared products rose by 8 percent on-year. Foreign exchange violations, which include attempts to take out more cash than is permitted, stood at 4.71 trillion won, or 66 percent of all illegal transactions caught.

Improperly declared products caught by customs stood at 1.24 trillion won, up 8 percent on-year, while illegal drugs confiscated by authorities reached 214 billion won, for an increase of 42 percent vis-a-vis 2014.

The customs office said intellectual property right violations declined compared with the year before.

The KCS said 35 percent of all contraband detected was related to trade with Japan, with numbers for China standing at 29 percent. The bulk of illegal trade with Japan involved clothing and foreign exchange violations, while numbers for China were propped up by illegal trade and counterfeit goods.

By product, 15 percent of all contraband detected was clothing followed by furniture, watches, shoes and bags.

yonngong@yna.co.kr
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