In the first half of this year, illegal foreign exchange transactions worth 7.2 trillion won were uncovered. The schemes mainly involved illegal remittances exceeding statutory limits and unreported overseas investments.
The Korea Customs Service announced these inspection results on illegal foreign exchange transactions on the 27th. Amid a persistently strong dollar, the agency designated illegal foreign exchange transactions that adversely affect foreign currency liquidity as a priority crackdowns area for the first half and completed inspections of 50 companies.
The crackdown covered not only acts that directly siphon off foreign currency, but also irregular illegal trade settlement practices that weaken inflows of foreign currency and hinder monitoring by foreign exchange authorities, such as hawala-type transfers and the use of virtual assets. The number of detected cases was 792, totaling 7.2 trillion won.
The Korea Customs Service identified four major types of violations. ▲ Flight of assets: concealing abroad the gains from overseas real estate investments made with funds borrowed from domestic credit institutions, instead of repatriating them ▲ Illegal remittances: small-value overseas remittance operators sending money in excess of statutory limits ▲ Virtual asset evasion of receipt obligations: receiving export proceeds in virtual assets rather than legal tender such as dollars to avoid the obligation to bring in foreign currency ▲ Unreported overseas investment: exporting foreign currency by investing overseas accounts receivable without filing a report.
The Korea Customs Service said that, as the strong dollar is a key risk exacerbating difficulties for Korea's economy, it will mobilize all its enforcement capacity to strictly crack down on illegal outflows of foreign currency, while also strengthening cooperation with related agencies such as the Ministry of Finance and Economy.
Lee Jong-uk, commissioner of the Korea Customs Service, said, "We will continue to respond sternly to acts such as illegal outflows of foreign currency that fuel exchange rate instability."