Yoon & Yang LLC said it held a seminar titled "Tariff administration changes in 2026 — focusing on tariff investigations and foreign exchange investigations" at the Yoon & Yang Training Center in ASEM Tower in Samseong-dong, Seoul, together with HwaWoo Customs Corporation.
Yoon & Yang explained that, amid the Korea Customs Service's push to advance tariff administration and the trend of strengthening tariff and foreign exchange investigations, the need is growing for corporations to understand the changing investigative environment accurately and prepare practical response strategies. The point is that the tariff administration environment is expected to change due to tougher crackdowns on unfair trade transactions and illegal foreign exchange transactions, expanded investigations into evasive transactions, and intensive inspections of export transactions that could harm national credibility.
About 120 practitioners, including corporate legal teams and foreign exchange and finance personnel, attended the seminar to discuss risk management measures in response to changes in tariff administration.
In the first session, "Tariff administration changes in 2026," customs broker Yoon Seon-deok of HwaWoo Customs Corporation, a former head of the Audit Bureau at Seoul Customs, presented on key policy directions and system changes in tariff administration. Yoon said, "The Korea Customs Service is overhauling the overall framework of tariff administration with the goal of blocking unfair trade and strengthening institutional transparency," and added, "Inspections of violations of trade-related laws, including the Customs Act and the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, are expected to become more sophisticated and systematic."
In the following session, "Trends in tariff and foreign exchange investigations in 2026," customs broker Sang Seung-hyeok introduced recent cases of tariff and foreign exchange investigations and future investigative directions. Sang noted the possibility of strengthened crackdowns on imports of goods directly tied to public safety and health, including under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Foreign Trade Act, the Food Sanitation Act, and the Electrical Appliances and Household Products Safety Control Act. Sang also emphasized that issues such as uncollected overseas receivables, the appropriateness of service transaction payments, and potential violations of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act related to the roles of each affiliate in intercompany transactions could become key focuses of investigation.
In the final session, "Responses to criminal cases in tariff and foreign exchange matters," attorney Ryu Seong-uk of Yoon & Yang (Judicial Research and Training Institute class 35) gave a lecture on strategies for responding when cases are converted to criminal proceedings during tariff or foreign exchange investigations. Ryu said, "When tariff or foreign exchange investigations lead to criminal procedures, the initial response can determine the course of the case," and added, "Strategic responses that combine organizing the facts and reviewing the legal theory from the investigative stage are important."
Managing partner Lee Myeong-su said, "As the regulatory environment related to tariffs and foreign exchange is changing rapidly, it is more important than anything else for corporations to preemptively check risks and prepare systematic response strategies," and added, "We hope this seminar helps deepen understanding of changes in tariff administration and strengthens practical response capabilities in the event of future investigations or disputes."
Yoon & Yang added that, through collaboration with HwaWoo Customs Corporation, it reduced taxes worth about 100 billion won by filing a pre-assessment review request, defended issues involving more than 400 billion won under the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, and won outright in a matter where additional tariffs of about 60 billion won were anticipated due to an HS-CODE change. Recently, it set up a criminal response team for tariff matters and said it is continuing to respond to foreign exchange and tariff investigations targeting large corporations.