Park Jun-young, Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Nominee, "Unaware of Illegality in Selling Imported Ornaments"

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] Park Junyoung, nominee for Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, apologized and stated that he will take necessary measures regarding the controversy over his wife's illegal import and sale of expensive ornaments.

On the 1st, Park said in a Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries press release, "I sincerely apologize for the unfortunate suspicions raised due to my thoughtless conduct," and added, "I will review the raised suspicions and take necessary actions."

Earlier, a media outlet reported that when Park returned after working at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the United Kingdom, his wife brought in ornaments worth at least tens of millions of won without customs duties and sold them illegally at a cafe.

Regarding this, Park stated, "The items purchased by my spouse in the UK were used as home decorations or for household purposes, and there was no intention to sell them at the time; moreover, their value was not highly appraised as they were secondhand goods." He added, "When brought into the country, they were included in the moving goods list and went through normal customs procedures." He continued, "However, in December 2019, when my spouse opened a cafe (coffee shop), to differentiate it from other stores, some of the items from our home were displayed in the store, and some were sold without realizing it was illegal." He explained, "We will actively review and take measures regarding customs evasion and business registration issues."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.