[Exclusive] Korea Customs Service Used Competitor Exporter as Interpreter... Late Realization Causes Anxiety

The Korea Customs Service hired a local Korean exporter in Peru as an interpreter during an origin investigation of mung beans, but it appears that customs officials were unaware of this fact. Despite involving a competing exporter with a significant conflict of interest in the investigation, the Korea Customs Service only realized this after receiving complaints from the Peruvian customs authorities. Contrary to the Korea Customs Service's explanation that there were no issues during the investigation process, criticism has been raised that the investigation was actually conducted carelessly.

원본보기 아이콘

According to a comprehensive report by Asia Economy on the 25th, the Korea Customs Service launched a local investigation in April last year, suspecting the origin of Peruvian mung beans imported into Korea. The investigation team hired ‘Mr. xxx Park (hereafter Mr. Park)’, a local resident, as a Spanish interpreter, but it turned out that he was an exporter of mung beans from Peru to Korea. Despite the significant conflict of interest, the Korea Customs Service explained, “He did not interpret during the verification.” They did not answer questions about why they did not hire an official interpreter and instead brought Mr. Park, the exporter. [Reference article: Customs investigating Peruvian mung beans hires local mung bean exporter as interpreter?]

However, it was confirmed that the Korea Customs Service initially did not know that Mr. Park was an exporter. An anonymous source said, “Mr. Park was the whistleblower who triggered the Peruvian origin investigation,” adding, “A Korea Customs Service employee recruited Mr. Park, but even the staff who participated in the field investigation thought he was a suspicious figure.” The source further claimed, “It was only later discovered that he was a Peruvian mung bean exporter, and frontline employees worried that this could become a major problem.”

There were also issues surrounding Mr. Park’s Spanish skills and interpretation. At the time, even when Peruvian farmers showed mung bean fields, Mr. Park interpreted statements such as “There is almost no production on site,” “They would not have cultivated mung beans before,” and “Peruvian farmers lie a lot.” Customs officials who did not speak Spanish reportedly doubted whether the locals actually said such things.

The exporters also found the interpretation suspicious. A representative of a Peruvian company said, “We were surprised that a Peruvian exporter was acting as a Korean interpreter,” explaining, “Mr. Park led the customs investigation, but we had no way of knowing what information he was interpreting and conveying.” Some Peruvian companies that had been investigated by Korean customs even advised Korean importers to “be cautious because the verification team’s interpretation is strange.”

원본보기 아이콘

Some local exporters were displeased with Mr. Park’s presence. This was because the Korea Customs Service met with Peruvian companies while accompanied by Mr. Park, a competitor in the same industry. According to the industry, this led to a climate of distrust and fear among exporters and producers in Peru toward the Korean customs investigation.

As a result, Peruvian exporters directly complained to the local customs authorities (MINCETUR) about problems with the Korean verification team’s interpretation. As the issue escalated, the Peruvian customs authorities raised the problem with the Korean side, and the Korea Customs Service responded that “Mr. Park will no longer participate in on-site verifications.” Contrary to the Korea Customs Service’s stance that there were no procedural flaws, it only recognized the problem and corrected it after receiving complaints from the local government and companies.

The Korea Customs Service did not respond to questions about why they hired Mr. Park as an interpreter or whether they knew in advance that he was a Peruvian exporter.

Mung beans for sowing growing locally in Peru. Photo by Contributor Provided

원본보기 아이콘

© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.