Blocking the Domestic Distribution of 1.25 Million Illegal Imported Heating and Gift Items

KATS-KCS "Blocking Customs Clearance with Focused Safety Inspections on Imported Winter Products"

Customs officers from the Incheon Customs Headquarters of the Korea Customs Service inspecting counterfeit goods and smuggled items seized on November 27 last year at the Incheon Customs First Designated Facility in Jung-gu, Incheon. /Incheon=Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s National Institute of Technology and Standards and the Korea Customs Service announced on the 22nd that they have detected 60 cases of illegal and false labeling of heating and gift products, preventing these products from circulating domestically. Although the number of cases detected is 60, the quantity seized amounts to 1,254,459 items.

Results of intensive safety inspections for heating and gift products in winter. (Source: Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy National Institute of Technology and Standards · Korea Customs Service)

The National Institute of Technology and Standards and the Korea Customs Service conducted a 31-day intensive safety inspection at the import customs clearance stage for heating and gift products from the 11th of last month to the 11th of this month, uncovering such illegal activities.

They identified products that were not certified for safety, falsely labeled with another business operator’s certification number, failed to display required safety standard markings, or had incorrect labeling violations, and consequently placed all such products on customs clearance hold. The detected products will be either improved, discarded, or sent back to the exporting countries.

The largest quantity of seized products was disposable heat packs for winter, totaling about 1.2 million units. This was followed by approximately 44,000 portable hand warmer batteries and about 9,000 toys. Additionally, 625 Christmas decorative lighting products were seized for attempting customs clearance without undergoing safety confirmation reporting.

Trends in the detection rate of illegal and substandard products during safety inspections at the customs clearance stage for imported products over the past 5 years. (Source: Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy National Institute of Technology and Standards · Korea Customs Service)

The National Institute of Technology and Standards and the Korea Customs Service reported that, as a result of expanding customs inspections on imported electrical, household, and children’s products over the past five years, the detection rate of illegal products has decreased by 8.8 percentage points. This indicates a reduction in cases of hazardous products entering the domestic market.

With the recent increase in online purchases, there is a growing possibility that unsafe imported illegal and substandard products may enter the country. Therefore, to reduce consumer harm, they plan to actively block the domestic entry of such products at the customs clearance stage.

A representative from the National Institute of Technology and Standards stated, "Next year, we plan to strengthen professional capabilities through training of investigative personnel and enhance customs inspections focusing on socially sensitive items such as products expected to have increased imports seasonally and recalled products both domestically and internationally."

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