Mun Sang-seon, proper, a Seoul Regional Customs workforce chief, poses with Korea Customs Service (KCS) Commissioner Ko Kwang-hyo as he was named customs agent of the month for September at KCS headquarters in Daejeon, Oct. 7. Courtesy of KCS
By Yi Whan-woo
Customs officer Mun Sang-seon stands out within the Korea Customs Service’s (KCS) marketing campaign towards the smuggling of animal prescribed drugs, amid a rising variety of Koreans residing with pets.
A workforce chief at KCS’ Seoul Regional Customs, Mun not too long ago led his workforce in an unprecedented crackdown 1 billion gained ($723,200) price of veterinary medication.
The seized medication, estimated at 200,000 drugs, could be sufficient to deal with almost 4 % of the 540,000 canine registered nationwide with the Ministry of Agriculture, Meals and Rural Affairs if used unexpectedly.
In recognition of his effort, he was named customs officer of the month for September.
“The crackdown that we carried out could be stated to be the most important ever by way of worth and quantity,” Mun stated in a written interview with The Korea Instances this week.
He speculated that, whereas the KCS doesn’t have compiled information on smuggling of veterinary prescribed drugs, the makes an attempt to convey them in illegally from overseas is believed be “on the rise.”
Mun identified that a minimum of one in 10 households in Korea has a canine or cat, and that the pet treatment market has been rising correspondingly.
“I think that there must be extra makes an attempt to smuggle veterinary medication, so as to dodge taxes and evade authorized procedures required for importation,” he stated.
The customs officer discovered the crime “a severe risk to animal well being, and extra broadly, for human well being as the 2 are strongly linked,” as he reaffirmed his dedication to combating unapproved animal prescribed drugs.
“The protection of those medication is just not assured, so companion animals could not obtain correct therapy if these medication flow into out there,” he stated.
“And in the long run, some germs, viruses and different sources of animal illnesses can infect individuals,” he added.
Requested about his most memorable second as a buyer officer, Mun defined that he satisfied a intermediary who was caught for attempting to evade tariffs to alter his thoughts for the sake of the importers.
Serving greater than 16 years on the KCS, he thanked his colleagues, saying “I wouldn’t have reached this far with out the assist of fellow officers.”
