Customs violations by Chinese visitors feared to surge amid visa waiver programs

Concerns are mounting over a sharp increase in customs violations by inbound Chinese tourists, amid the government’s push to expand visa waiver programs, according to lawmakers Tuesday. They warn that government efforts to promote visa waivers for Chinese nationals to boost domestic tourism come amid concerns that the current customs system remains ill-equipped to handle the rising volume of illegal imports and smuggling, posing a risk to national security and public safety. According to data provided by the Korea Customs Service to Rep. Lee In-seon of the main opposition People Power Party, Chinese nationals committed nearly 72,000 customs violations between 2020 and September this year. Over 17,000 violations occurred in the first nine months of this year. The violations included bringing goods into the country exceeding per-person duty-free limits, and importing banned items such as illegal pharmaceuticals and knives. Attempts to smuggle counterfeit products were also identified. In some cases, they were caught using tourist visas to bring large quantities of goods to sell in Korea. TWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times