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Gov't begins foreign exchange inspections of more than 1,100 exporters

Published: 13 Jan. 2026, 18:22

Lee Jong-wook, the vice commissioner of the Korea Customs Service, announces plans to intensify inspections and crackdowns on illegal foreign-exchange transactions at the government complex in Sejong on Jan. 13. [NEWS1]

The government will begin special foreign exchange inspections of more than 1,100 exporters to crack down on illegal currency transactions as the weak won continues.

The inspections aim to stop illegal foreign exchange practices, including cases in which exporters keep dollar earnings overseas or use them to repay foreign debt instead of bringing the funds back into Korea.

The Korea Customs Service (KCS) finalized the plan during a meeting with customs officials at the government complex in Daejeon on Tuesday.

“We have made stabilizing the exchange rate a core task for this year and will respond strictly to actions that undermine that goal,” said Lee Myeong-ku, the commissioner of the KCS.

The won closed at 1,473.7 per dollar in Seoul on Tuesday, up 5.3 won from the previous session.

The KCS selected 1,138 companies for inspection this year: Sixty-two large firms, 424 midsize companies and 652 small- and medium-sized enterprises. The figure marks a tenfold increase from 2025.

The targets include companies that recorded more than $50 million in cumulative trade over the past five years or showed large gaps between export and import amounts reported to customs or in trade payments processed by banks.

The KCS said export earnings have not fully flowed back into the domestic financial system.

Export-bound vehicles stand at Pyeongtaek Port in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, on Jan. 13. [NEWS1]

Differences between trade values reported to customs and payments handled by banks totaled $294.8 billion from January through November last year, the largest gap in five years, the KCS said.

Customs officials said some companies have delayed collecting trade payments to seek foreign exchange gains, and they suspect that unreported foreign exchange investments, debt repayments or slush fund creations may have occurred in the process.

A customs inspection last year found that 97 percent of 104 companies examined engaged in illegal foreign exchange transactions totaling 2.2 trillion won ($1.5 billion).

Authorities said delays in recovering trade payments can reduce domestic dollar liquidity. Of $1.18 trillion in foreign currency that entered Korea from January through November 2025, trade payments accounted for $471.6 billion, or about 40 percent.

“We will strictly enforce the rules so that foreign currency that should enter the country does not remain abroad,” said Lee Jong-wook, the vice commissioner of the KCS. “We will do our best to help ease the current high exchange rate situation.”

The KCS said it will pursue criminal investigations in cases involving large, poorly explained or unexplained uncollected export payments from companies.

Critics have said the government’s sweeping inspections could dampen corporate business activity.

“Officials will begin investigations only in cases of clear violations,” Lee Jong-wook said. “We will make sure legitimate trade activity is not disrupted.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY AHN HYO-SEONG [[email protected]]