SOUTH KOREA Law and Practice Contributed by: Soo Bong Jung, Jinwook Song, Jinwon Choi and Jiyoung Sohn, Bae, Kim & Lee LLC
importing or exporting goods other than as declared on the customs declaration. A person who is convicted of smuggling may face up to seven years of imprisonment or a criminal fine of up to KRW70 million. Evasion of Customs Duty (“Tariff Evasion”) Tariff evasion includes the following: • the act of falsely stating the customs value, or improperly determining the applicable tariff rate, in relation to imported goods; • the falsification of import documentation; and • the division or subdivision of imported goods to evade customs regulations. Such offences are punishable by imprisonment for up to three years or a criminal fine equal to the higher of three times the applicable customs duties and the purchase price of the imported good. Improper Import and Export The KCA prohibits the import or export of goods that lack any requisite approvals, permissions, recommen - dations, evidence or any other requirement, in addi - tion to the import of goods through improper means. Violations of import requirements are punishable by imprisonment for up to three years or a fine of up to KRW30 million, and violations of export requirements are punishable by imprisonment for up to one year or a fine of up to KRW20 million. In addition to the regulations set forth in the KCA, the Foreign Trade Act restricts exporting particular goods without the necessary approvals, the falsi - fication of supporting documentation, or the use of improper means to export such goods. Violations are punishable by imprisonment for up to five years or a fine equal to three times the purchase price of the exported goods. 3.11 Concealment Under the Act on Regulation and Punishment of Crimi - nal Proceeds Concealment (the “Criminal Proceeds Regulation Act”, or CPRA), an individual committing any of the following acts may face up to five years of
imprisonment and/or a criminal fine of up to KRW30 million: • misrepresenting the facts regarding the acquisition or disposition of criminal proceeds; • misrepresenting the origin of criminal proceeds; or • concealing criminal proceeds for the purpose of encouraging specific crimes or disguising the crim - inal proceeds as legitimately acquired property. Any attempt or conspiracy to commit any of the above acts may also be subject to criminal punishment. Predicate offences for the concealment offences, cover a wide range, including bribery, fraud, embez - zlement, breach of fiduciary duty, smuggling, forgery, market manipulation, narcotics offences and others. 3.12 Aiding and Abetting Aiding or abetting another to commit a crime is crimi - nally punishable. Aiding a person already intent on committing a criminal offence by encouraging and/or rendering assistance to enable or facilitate the con - summation of the offence is subject to less severe penalties than those faced by the principal offender, whereas abetting another who initially had no inten - tion to commit an offence is punishable to the same degree as the principal offender. Furthermore, persons may be subject to joint criminal liability if they are found to have jointly committed the crime by having both the intent to conspire and act together, and by each playing a substantive role in the act’s consummation. 3.13 Money Laundering The primary anti-money laundering (AML) laws in Korea include the following: • the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information (the “Specified Financial Information Act”); • the CPRA; • the Act on Prohibition against the Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction; and • the Act on Special Cases Concerning Prevention of Illegal Trafficking in Narcotics.
264 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook