The Tariff Agency is taking steps to eradicate livelihood crimes that threaten the safety and property of citizens, such as substandard food, illegal drugs, and drug smuggling.
The Tariff Agency announced on 14th that it will launch the 'Economic Border Livelihood Crime Response Headquarters' under the direct leadership of Administrator Lee Myung-koo and will initiate a massive crackdown on five major livelihood crimes. The five major livelihood crimes are ▲ illegal import of food and drugs ▲ illegal import of life and industrial safety hazardous materials ▲ smuggling of firearms and drugs ▲ disruption of capital markets ▲ illegal outflow of criminal funds, asset flight, and identity theft.
The Tariff Agency will focus on cracking down on the illegal import of items banned from importation and food and drugs that contain harmful substances to humans, as well as the illegal import of unsafe consumer products, industrial machinery, and equipment. It will also crack down on illegal purchasing proxies for overseas direct purchases, smuggling of firearms and drugs, voice phishing, and illegal outflow of real estate speculative funds.
The Tariff Agency's policy is to block organized and sophisticated livelihood crimes at the border level. To this end, it will expand on-site risk information collection and strengthen selective inspections of imported goods centered around airports and ports. If evidence of criminal activity is found, a thorough investigation will be conducted to root out smuggling and distribution organizations.
Meanwhile, the Tariff Agency has detected 871 cases of the five major livelihood crimes in the first half of this year alone. The total amount involved is 2.2247 trillion won. Most of the seized items did not meet the safety standards set by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the National Institute of Technology and Standards, and the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, or included unauthorized firearms, methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana. There were also numerous cases of manipulating export and import figures through illegal foreign exchange transactions to inflate sales or siphon funds abroad.
Administrator Lee Myung-koo said, "We will prioritize the protection of the lives and safety of our citizens as the top goal of tariff administration and respond with full force until livelihood crimes are eradicated."