History and regulation of customs broker in Korea
After Korea was liberated from Japanese colonialism on Aug. 15th, 1945, in Nov. 1949, the first CUSTOMS ACT was enacted. The law defined the person entitled to perform customs clearance as 세관화물취급인 literally translated to Customs Goods Handler. The customs clearance system was the same as the one under Japanese rule. As the Korean economy and trade grew, the CUSTOMS ACT ( 관세법 ) was amended, and the term referring to customs broker in Korean was changed to 통관업자 and to 관세사 literally translated to Customs Clearance Operator and Customs Duty Specialist respectively. Along with the term change, the scope of work that a customs broker was entitled to perform changed drastically. In 1995, a new law named LICENSED CUSTOMS BROKER ACT ( 관세사법 , “LCBA”) was enacted. Since then, the law regulates rights and constraints of customs brokers. Year 1995 is crucial from the perspective of customs clearance as well. It was when EDI Customs Declaration started. The picture above shows you what th...