. /.RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/C/W/212
6 June 2000
(00-2233)
Council for Trade in Goods Original:  English
KOREA’S RECENT EFFORTS TO STREAMLINE THE
CUSTOMS CLEARANCE SYSTEM
The following communication, dated 5 June 2000, has been received from the Permanent
Mission of Korea.
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I.  INTRODUCTION
The economic development of a nation and the world as a whole will be enhanced through
facilitating trade flows and increasing trade volume.  One of the essential means to facilitate trade
flows, other than eliminating trade barriers, is simplifying customs clearance procedures and
harmonizing international standards.  Individual countries, as well as related international
organizations, have been sparing no efforts to reform various relevant policies and systems to keepabreast with this trend.
Korea highly appreciates the contributions made by international organizations and individual
countries to facilitate trade, and believes that such efforts should be coordinated in the WTO.
Therefore, Korea is of the view that establishing a framework of rules and disciplines on the
procedures and formalities relating to trade facilitation would provide a consistent and systematic
approach to trade facilitation.
In the meantime, the Korean government has continued to streamline the customs clearance
process and harmonize the system to eliminate any burdens to traders and any barriers that may
hamper efficient trade flow.  Korea’s past measures to this end have been well discussed in detail in
the papers submitted earlier (G/C/W/123, 134, 146, 150).
This paper provides a summary of Korea's recent achievements in terms of the simplification,
harmonization and computerization of the customs clearance system, as administered by the Korea
Customs Service.
II. EFFORTS MADE FOR TRADE FACILITATION
1. Implementation of Paperless Import Clearance System
With an aim to simplify its import clearance procedures and expedite the logistics flow, Korea
Customs Service began to operate the P/L (Paperless) Import Clearance System on 12 July 1999.
Under this system, 19 relevant government agencies and 48 organizations (e.g. industry
associations, national institutes of plant and veterinary quarantine etc.) have been interlinked in an
electronic network, and various required documentation, including inspection/quarantine certificates
and permit/approval/recommendations papers, have been standardized in electronic format.G/C/W/212
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In the past, importers were required to submit various kinds of documents to the
governmental agencies, including a value declaration form, an invoice, a bill of lading (B/L), packing
list and other papers needed for government approval and/or a license or recommendation of the
authorities concerned.
The new system has substantially contributed to further reducing the time and costs involved
in the distribution of imported/exported goods, thereby facilitating trade with foreign countries. At
present, 96% of exports, 12% of imports, and 33% of drawbacks have been completed utilizing the
P/L System. The total time required, from the submission of a declaration to acceptance by relevant
authorities, was reduced from 2 hours and 50 minutes to only 45 minutes.
1. Extended Implementation of the On-Dock Immediate Delivery System
As already explained in the Korea submission paper of September 1998 (G/C/W/123), Korea
Customs Service has been implementing the On-Dock Immediate Delivery System at two ports -
Pusan and Kwangyang - since June 1998.  The system allows an importer to unload and release
imported goods simultaneously at the time of entry, so that he/she may transport the imported goods
in bond immediately after being cleared at the seaport.
Reports show that the system, after one year of operation at Pusan and Kwangyang, has
certainly contributed to reducing the costs and time  needed for the customs clearance process.  The
On-Dock Delivery System was utilized for 57% of the cargo that entered via the wharf dedicated to
containers.  A total of 1,104,000 TEU of contai ner cargo made use of this system, reducing
approximately 220.8 billion won in logistics costs.  The time needed from entry into port to import
clearance was also reduced from 13 days to only 4 days.
The On-Dock Immediate Delivery System, as promised, was expanded to the Inchon port as
of 13 March 2000.  The system is expected to be utilized for around 60% (or 112 thousand TEU) of
the cargo and help reduce logistics costs by more than 22.4 billion won annually.
III. CONCLUSION
Korea hopes that the above-mentioned policies will contribute to promoting discussions on
trade facilitation at the WTO.  The Korean government will continue to carry out the modernization
process of the customs clearance system and share specific experiences with other WTO Members in
order to facilitate international trade.
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