Korea to host international meeting on post-pandemic customs policies

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

Finance

Sat, September 23, 2023 | 14:14

Economy

Korea to host international meeting on post-pandemic customs policies

Posted : 2023-04-25 15:45

Updated : 2023-04-25 15:45

The promotional image of "Korea Customs Week 2023," a three-day international gathering to be hosted by the Korea Customs Service (KCS) in Seoul from Wednesday. Captured image from "Korea Customs Week 2023" website

More than 600 guests from 78 countries to discuss customs administration cooperation
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By Yi Whan-woo

The Korea Customs Service (KCS) will host an international meeting in Seoul from Wednesday to Friday, with the aim of bolstering cooperation in customs policies across borders to grapple with the changes brought on by the pandemic to the trade environment.

Titled, Korea Customs Week 2023, the three-day gathering will be the first of its kind organized by the KCS in the face of growing protectionism, disrupted supply chains, the economic downturn, high inflation and other pandemic-induced issues affecting global trade security.

Korea Customs Service (KCS) Commissioner Yoon Tae-sik / Courtesy of KCS

A greater reliance on digital technology is also increasingly being witnessed in trade, and subsequently, in customs clearance. Against this backdrop, more than 600 guests from 78 countries are anticipated to meet face-to-face at The Shilla Seoul hotel and discuss issues of shared interest under the theme of Challenges and Tasks for Digital Customs and Global Customs Cooperation.

The 78 countries include the United States, Japan, France, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, Pakistan and 71 others.

The guests range from chiefs of customs authorities, high-ranking bureaucrats, senior officials from the World Customs Organization (WCO), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the World Bank, U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and other multinational organizations, as well as entrepreneurs, professors and lawyers.

Local participants will include KCS Commissioner Yoon Tae-sik and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo.

"Customs partnership is growing ever more important to trade facilitation and security," Yoon said in his welcoming message, adding that he believes that the Seoul gathering "will provide an excellent opportunity for our candid discussion."

The programs will consist of a roundtable, seminars ― one plenary and seven concurrent ― plus, briefings on customs administration-related technologies, exhibitions, bilateral and multilateral dialogues among commissioners, business meetings and a field trip.

Presided over by Yoon, the roundtable will take place on the first day and will be joined by customs commissioners of the participating countries. It will be a closed-door discussion and will be followed by a joint statement from customs leaders.

Yoon, and possibly another commissioner, will hold a press briefing afterward to take relevant questions.

A plenary seminar will also be held on the opening day, to be participated in by a moderator, a presenter and panelists. They will discuss broad ideas concerning the main theme of the meeting.

The seven concurrent seminars will take place through Wednesday and Thursday, in a similar format to the plenary seminar.

The topics to be covered are: leveraging disruptive technology for customs innovation, the role of international organizations for customs modernization, tariff and non-tariff barriers in relation to trade facilitation, combating drug trafficking, financial and other cross-border crimes, tackling e-commerce challenges in customs, and promoting exchange of customs information on exports and imports.

Briefings on customs administration-related technologies will be held on Wednesday and Thursday.

The briefings are aimed at addressing how up-to-date technical devices and equipment can be used to make customs authorities' work more efficient.

Among the technologies are virtual reality (VR), artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted X-ray, smart customs and big-data analysis.

Correspondingly, the KCS as well as multiple engineering schools and technological labs in Korea will run exhibition booths from Wednesday to Thursday for visitors to experience customs administration-related technologies.

The commissioners will have the chance to engage in in-depth discussions on bilateral and multilateral cooperation from Wednesday to Thursday.

The two-day business meetings from Wednesday will match entrepreneurs with customs officials of the participating countries.

Business people have signed up for one-on-one consultations with customs officials from more than a dozen countries.

The participants will wrap up the three-day meeting, Friday, after a field trip to witness how Korea Customs operates at Incheon International Airport and other related sites.

yistory@koreatimes.co.kr