Korea Post Resumes International Postal Services to the United States

International postal services to the United States, which had been partially suspended due to the U.S. administration's tariff policies, will be fully resumed.

The Korea Post announced on the 22nd that it will resume postal services to the United States, making it the second country after the United Kingdom to do so. The resumption was made possible after securing customs declaration and payment channels through consultations with customs payment agencies approved by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

The service resumes from today (the 22nd). The resumed international postal service will operate on a prepayment basis, where the sender pays customs duties in advance either by cash or bank transfer.

Users can utilize the international postal service as before by filling out the item name, quantity, price, HS code, and country of origin on the international postal label (CN22/23). No additional documents are required.

Korean products are generally subject to a tariff rate of about 15%, although the rate may vary depending on the item and country of origin. Gifts valued at under 100 dollars can be sent without customs duties, with only a nominal declaration fee required. Food items such as kimchi, which could previously be sent by mail, can also be accepted.

However, if a gift does not meet the 'bona fide gift' requirements set by CBP, customs clearance may be delayed, or the item may be returned or discarded.

Only items transferred free of charge between individuals are recognized as gifts. If the sender is a corporation or the package bears a corporate logo, it is unlikely to be accepted as a gift.

Previously, Korea Post signed an institutional guarantee agreement regarding customs payments and worked to minimize the service fee charged to customers in order to reduce the public burden.

For example, when sending a package valued at 100,000 won to the United States using the sender prepayment method (DDP), private courier service fees range from 15,000 to 25,000 won, but Korea Post can send it for 3,250 won (including VAT), making it relatively inexpensive.

Korea Post also emphasized that even if the actual customs duties imposed in the United States exceed those paid in Korea, the customs payment agency will cover the difference, so customers will not incur any additional costs.

Additionally, Korea Post is running a promotional event until the end of next month, offering a discount of 5,000 won per ton for EMS shipments to the United States accepted at the counter.

Cho Haekeun, Director General of Korea Post, stated, "Korea has become the second country in the world after the United Kingdom to resume international postal services to the United States. For now, the service has resumed with cash or bank transfer payments, and we are preparing the necessary procedures to enable credit card payments by next month."

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