On the 14th, the new Commissioner of the Korea Customs Service, Lee Myung-ku, said, "I will secure the target revenue of 72.5 trillion won stably."
During his inauguration ceremony, the Administrator noted, "The government of popular sovereignty has emphasized the will to realize its national philosophy through active fiscal management several times." The Korea Customs Service has supported about 20% of national fiscal revenues.
He said, "I hope you will respond more strictly to deliberate and malicious tax evasion and delinquency that do not comply with the customs authorities' legitimate guidance and law enforcement." However, he added, "We must work to establish a fair and sincere taxpayer culture so as not to stifle the legitimate economic activities of corporations," emphasizing the need to improve overreaching or unjust procedures in taxpayer protection activities.
The Administrator said, "We must concentrate all administrative capabilities on the recovery of the export economy and stabilization of people's livelihoods." He added, "We must mobilize all available administrative support to help our corporations struggling in the global market overcome the difficulties posed by the tariff war originating from the United States."
He continued, "Strengthen the global competitiveness of advanced and key industries through practical tariff diplomacy to resolve customs difficulties," and asked, "I urge promising small and medium-sized enterprises in K-food, beauty, etc., to focus on establishing a supportive foundation for rapid growth through entry into export markets." He also stated that efforts should be made to enhance public services and establish domestic distribution order regarding people's livelihoods.
Regarding trade security, he remarked, "We must strengthen our capabilities with the sense of mission that our customs service is the organization that should sternly deal with trade security violations to protect the legitimate interests of our exporting companies." The Administrator said, "We need to ensure that we can complete investigations comprehensively, focusing on securing investigative powers regarding fraud, embezzlement, and breach of trust, as well as strengthening information analysis."
The Administrator emphasized that we must achieve a clean country regarding firearms and drugs. He said, "The recent large-scale drug smuggling detection at Okgye Port in Gangneung warns that our country is no longer safe from the threats of new drugs and crime cartels."
The Administrator stated, "We must further solidify information sharing and cooperation with domestic and international drug enforcement agencies," and noted, "We will need to check and confirm without fail whether there are any blind spots in monitoring at customs through the introduction of advanced inspection equipment."
The Administrator remarked, "We must push for a transformation towards artificial intelligence within the Korea Customs Service," adding, "Please establish a blueprint and concrete implementation plan to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance internal work efficiency and external service quality."
The Administrator noted, "We should pay attention to the fact that our customs service's mission is changing from the role of collecting 'taxes' to the role of blocking elements that undermine national interests at the borders."
He stated, "We must prepare comprehensively to support the global top-tier resurgence of K-duty-free shops and improve airport passenger services, as well as establish a rapid import customs response system for essential goods to stabilize prices."
The Administrator added, "To foster the capital market, we must enhance our foreign exchange investigation capabilities so that the policy of issuing won-denominated stablecoins, planned for early implementation, can settle fairly and stably."