A Problems of Customs Penalties and Improvement Measures: Focusing on Cases

This study examines the disproportionate severity of current customs punishment regulations in comparison to penalties for foreign customs offenders, domestic tax offenders, and property evasion offenders. The analysis, grounded in the principles of responsibility, proportionality, and complementarity to criminal punishment, reveals significant issues within existing customs penalty regulations. The research concludes that reforms should aim to mitigate the current aggravated punishment approach. Key recommendations include: (1) elevating the monetary threshold for punishment under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Special Crimes and revising the calculation basis to ‘amount of customs tax evaded’ rather than ‘cost of goods’; (2) modifying regulations to adhere to the principle of punishment based on accomplice dependency; (3) amending the treatment of preliminary offenses to align with precedents in the Criminal Code and foreign customs penalties; and (4) harmonizing the punitive measures for customs offenders with those for tax offenders.