This year, the amount of goods disguised as Korean-made and exported to the U.S using deceptive methods such as "label changing" has seen a significant increase.

The Korean government expects more such cases amid intensifying global trade tensions, with exporters attempting to evade high tariffs on Chinese goods by falsely claiming Korean origin. Authorities plan to ramp up enforcement efforts.

On April 21, the Korea Customs Service (KCS) announced the launch of a special trade security investigation task force to respond to U.S. trade policies and protect domestic industries.

The task force will conduct wide-ranging crackdowns on illegal circumvention exports that exploit differences in tariff rates among countries. Its primary targets include goods subject to high U.S. tariffs, such as anti-dumping duties and retaliatory tariffs, as well as import-restricted items.

According to the KCS, such goods are often disguised as Korean products through illegal means like label changing or document forgery in order to avoid tariffs and import restrictions. “If goods from countries with higher tariffs than Korea are rerouted through Korea and falsely labeled as Korean before being exported to the U.S. or other countries, it could damage the country's credibility and harm domestic industries,” the agency said.

Over the past five years, the KCS has uncovered illegal circumvention exports worth a total of 467.5 billion won. Most cases involved attempts to evade anti-dumping tariffs or falsely label goods as Korean to get a premium for Korean products.

In recent years, due to changes in the U.S. government's trade policy, there has been a significant increase in the number of circumvented exports through Korea to avoid reciprocal tariffs and import regulations that vary from country to country.

In the first quarter of this year alone, the value of detected goods falsely labeled as Korean and rerouted to the U.S. amounted to 28.5 billion, already surpassing last year’s total of 21.7 billion.

One case in January involved a company established in Korea by Chinese nationals, which attempted to export Chinese-made battery cathode materials to the U.S. as Korean products to avoid high tariffs. In March, another case was uncovered where Chinese-made components of intelligent CCTV systems were imported into Korea, assembled, and falsely labeled as domestic products to circumvent U.S. restrictions on Chinese surveillance equipment.

To strengthen its enforcement, the KCS held a joint public-private meeting on April 21 at the Seoul Main Customs to establish an information-sharing cooperation system. The agency will also expand cooperation with domestic and international organizations, including the National Intelligence Service (NIS), U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

KCS Commissioner Ko Kwang-hyo said, “Circumvention exports that involve falsifying the origin of goods undermine the credibility of Korean exports and could lead to the expansion of non-tariff barriers. We will conduct thorough inspections and crack down on circumvention exports.”