The Commissioner of Customs and Excise, Ms Louise Ho, and the Commissioner of Korea Customs Service (KCS), Mr Ko Kwang hyo, attended the 34th Customs Cooperation Conference between the Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) and the KCS today (November 1) in Seoul, Korea.
During the conference, both sides exchanged the latest developments and information regarding anti-drug enforcement, anti-money laundering and intellectual property rights protection. In the face of new challenges arising from ever-changing trends and landscapes of criminal activities related to these aspects, especially in response to financial crimes exploiting the nature of virtual assets like cryptocurrency, Ms Ho stressed the need for international law enforcement agencies to co-operate. She also introduced measures the C&ED has been taking to foster regional law enforcement co-operation and synergies, citing the Regional Customs High-level Drug Enforcement Forum held by the C&ED in February this year. Adding that an intellectual property rights protection forum will be held in March next year, during which enforcement representatives of the Asia Pacific region will be invited, Ms Ho appealed for the participation of Mr Ko and his delegation in the forum.
After the conference, a Memorandum of Understanding of co-operation and assistance committing to strengthen collaboration and information exchanges on international financial crimes and drug-related offenses was signed between the two places with an aim to advance the effectiveness in the prevention, investigation, and combating of related crimes.
The aforementioned co-operative arrangement fully demonstrates the determination of the C&ED in cracking down on transnational criminal activities. The C&ED will continue to deepen co-operation with various customs authorities and initiate timely joint operations in order to safeguard regional security.
Ends/Wednesday, November 1, 2023
