South Korea's customs authorities announced plans for a nationwide special inspection targeting suspected illegal trade and foreign exchange practices amid the won's ongoing depreciation. The probe will cover 1,138 companies showing significant discrepancies between reported trade data and bank payments.
On Tuesday, January 13, 2026, South Korea's Korea Customs Service (KCS) announced plans to launch a nationwide special inspection targeting suspected illegal trade and foreign exchange (FX) practices in response to the ongoing depreciation of the Korean won. The inspection will focus on 1,138 companies whose reported export and import data show significant discrepancies with trade payments processed through banks.
This move is part of broader efforts to stabilize the foreign exchange rate, identified as a key task for the agency this year. The won fell further on Tuesday morning, trading below 1,470 to the U.S. dollar shortly after recovering from a near 16-year low. "Supporting foreign exchange rate stability will be a key task for the agency this year," KCS Commissioner Lee Myeong-ku said in a press release, pledging a strict crackdown on illegal trade and foreign exchange activities.
The probe will prioritize companies at high risk of illegal FX transactions, based on additional analyses of trade performance and financial data. The KCS emphasized that criminal investigations and prosecutions will only proceed with clear evidence of wrongdoing, and cases with uncertain illegality will be promptly closed to avoid disrupting normal trade activities.
The gap between bank-processed trade payments and customs-reported trade volumes reached $290 million from January to November last year, the largest discrepancy in five years. While timing differences in settlements can cause normal gaps, the KCS noted that last year's unusually large disparity may indicate intentional delays or failures in payments to exploit FX market fluctuations. Foreign exchange authorities have warned of the won's "excessive" weakness and pledged strong policy measures this year to stabilize the market.
