By Lim Jae-hyeon
The "Korean wave," referring to the global popularity of Korean culture, has been extending its fan base beyond Asia as Korean dramas and popular music have been stirring a broader interest since the late 1990s.
The letter "K" is now widely used to indicate Korea in a wide range of areas besides Korean pop culture. K-pop, K-food, K-beauty and K-quarantine have become big manifestations of global culture, industry and systems. They are no longer merely passing fads.
In this regard, "K-customs" is no exception, unleashing the potential of the globalization of Korea's customs administration.
The World Customs Organization (WCO) designated a detector dog training center in Incheon as its WCO Regional Dog Training Center in February 2021. With this, Korea has become the first country to host all four WCO-designated regional bodies including the Regional Training Center, Regional Intelligence Liaison Office, Regional Dog Training Center and Regional Customs Laboratory in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Customs Border Control Training Institute in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, was designated as a regional training center in 2010 to train customs officers in the Asia-Pacific region. Following this, the Regional Intelligence Liaison Office in Seoul for the Asia-Pacific region has been operating since 2012 to fight international crime, prevent the illegal drug trade and exchange information among relevant stakeholders.
The Korea Central Customs Laboratory (Jinju) was appointed as the WCO Regional Customs Laboratory in 2018 for its outstanding scientific equipment and analytic capability. What is more, we hosted the WCO Regional Dog Training Center for providing first-rate infrastructure and professional dog training techniques. In total, we hosted all four WCO regional bodies.
The WCO, representing 183 customs administrations, is an independent intergovernmental body supporting members' customs modernization, effective revenue collection, trade facilitation and stringent enforcement on illegal trade along with discussing overall customs policies.
Indeed, the appointment of the WCO regional body requires competency in customs administration, high-quality facilities, financial solvency, performance, concrete future plans and approval from members and the secretariat. The hosting of the WCO regional bodies shows that the Korea Customs Service (KCS) now play a leading role in establishing international standards with its enhanced capacity and infrastructure.
In 2019, a senior KCS official was elected to serve as director of the Capacity Building Directorate among three directorates at the WCO. This was the first time for a KCS official to take a high-ranking position at the WCO.
The director of capacity building is responsible for coordinating modernization products, providing training in legal frameworks and customs-related techniques for three quarters of the 183 members. This showcases that the profile of the KCS has been remarkably raised for its greater contribution to the global customs community.
The KCS is providing assistance in customs service for developing countries. Training projects have been implemented to target developing countries in clearance, investigation, e-commerce and risk management as they wish to learn knowhow and experiences from our side. Senior customs officers have been invited to forums and on-site study, expanding the scope of partnership.
Based on this continued cooperation, UNI-PASS, Korea's e-customs clearance system has been exported to 15 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. It is, however, unfortunate that training sessions and conferences have been held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In line with the current trend when we are seeing the emergence of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, use of new technologies, and the growth of e-commerce and electronic data exchange, the KCS is making forward-looking moves in trade facilitation. The Big Data Promotion Group was launched in 2020 and the E-commerce Division was set up as part of a reshuffle this year.
In doing so, the KCS is pursuing positive changes in customs work by promoting public-private cooperation to fully utilize AI and new technologies, establishing the Electronic Origin Data Exchange System (EODES) and expanding the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs).
"K-Customs" is just the beginning, and an extension of the letter "K." Hopefully, we can expect that the infrastructure and systems of the KCS to wash across the world as a role model.
Lim Jae-hyeon is commissioner of Korea Customs Service.
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The letter "K" is now widely used to indicate Korea in a wide range of areas besides Korean pop culture. K-pop, K-food, K-beauty and K-quarantine have become big manifestations of global culture, industry and systems. They are no longer merely passing fads.
In this regard, "K-customs" is no exception, unleashing the potential of the globalization of Korea's customs administration.
The World Customs Organization (WCO) designated a detector dog training center in Incheon as its WCO Regional Dog Training Center in February 2021. With this, Korea has become the first country to host all four WCO-designated regional bodies including the Regional Training Center, Regional Intelligence Liaison Office, Regional Dog Training Center and Regional Customs Laboratory in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Customs Border Control Training Institute in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, was designated as a regional training center in 2010 to train customs officers in the Asia-Pacific region. Following this, the Regional Intelligence Liaison Office in Seoul for the Asia-Pacific region has been operating since 2012 to fight international crime, prevent the illegal drug trade and exchange information among relevant stakeholders.
The Korea Central Customs Laboratory (Jinju) was appointed as the WCO Regional Customs Laboratory in 2018 for its outstanding scientific equipment and analytic capability. What is more, we hosted the WCO Regional Dog Training Center for providing first-rate infrastructure and professional dog training techniques. In total, we hosted all four WCO regional bodies.
The WCO, representing 183 customs administrations, is an independent intergovernmental body supporting members' customs modernization, effective revenue collection, trade facilitation and stringent enforcement on illegal trade along with discussing overall customs policies.
Indeed, the appointment of the WCO regional body requires competency in customs administration, high-quality facilities, financial solvency, performance, concrete future plans and approval from members and the secretariat. The hosting of the WCO regional bodies shows that the Korea Customs Service (KCS) now play a leading role in establishing international standards with its enhanced capacity and infrastructure.
In 2019, a senior KCS official was elected to serve as director of the Capacity Building Directorate among three directorates at the WCO. This was the first time for a KCS official to take a high-ranking position at the WCO.
The director of capacity building is responsible for coordinating modernization products, providing training in legal frameworks and customs-related techniques for three quarters of the 183 members. This showcases that the profile of the KCS has been remarkably raised for its greater contribution to the global customs community.
The KCS is providing assistance in customs service for developing countries. Training projects have been implemented to target developing countries in clearance, investigation, e-commerce and risk management as they wish to learn knowhow and experiences from our side. Senior customs officers have been invited to forums and on-site study, expanding the scope of partnership.
Based on this continued cooperation, UNI-PASS, Korea's e-customs clearance system has been exported to 15 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. It is, however, unfortunate that training sessions and conferences have been held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In line with the current trend when we are seeing the emergence of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, use of new technologies, and the growth of e-commerce and electronic data exchange, the KCS is making forward-looking moves in trade facilitation. The Big Data Promotion Group was launched in 2020 and the E-commerce Division was set up as part of a reshuffle this year.
In doing so, the KCS is pursuing positive changes in customs work by promoting public-private cooperation to fully utilize AI and new technologies, establishing the Electronic Origin Data Exchange System (EODES) and expanding the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs).
"K-Customs" is just the beginning, and an extension of the letter "K." Hopefully, we can expect that the infrastructure and systems of the KCS to wash across the world as a role model.
Lim Jae-hyeon is commissioner of Korea Customs Service.
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