Gwangju Customs to Provide 24-Hour Customs Clearance Support for Three Weeks Ahead of Chuseok

Expedited Processing of Holiday Essentials and Urgent Raw Materials

In anticipation of the Chuseok holiday, Gwangju Main Customs will provide 24-hour customs clearance support for three weeks to ensure export and import logistics continue seamlessly. The agency plans to facilitate the smooth supply of holiday essentials such as agricultural, marine, and livestock products, as well as urgent raw materials and components, and to expedite cargo shipments and customs duty refunds for export companies.

On September 4, Gwangju Main Customs announced that it will implement a “Special Support Program for Chuseok Holiday Export and Import Customs Clearance” from September 7 to 27.

During this period, a special customs support team will be operated around the clock—including holidays and nights—maintaining a 24-hour response system from export/import declaration to final clearance.

The initiative focuses on reducing customs delays for ▲holiday essentials such as agricultural, marine, and livestock products with increasing demand before the holiday, ▲urgent raw materials and components directly related to production schedules, and ▲export cargo requiring timely shipment.

For companies with ‘fast track’ status that need customs clearance outside of regular hours or on holidays, applications for temporary opening will also be allowed. Customs officials will handle export/import clearance, port entries and exits, and bonded transportation operations even on holidays and outside normal work hours.

If a company requests an extension of the cargo shipment period in cases where cargo for which an export declaration has been approved cannot be shipped within the specified period, the request will be processed promptly to reduce the potential burden of fines. According to current regulations, if cargo is not shipped within 30 days after export declaration approval, a fine of KRW 100,000 may be imposed.

From September 10 to 23, Gwangju Main Customs will designate a “Special Support Period for Customs Refunds,” processing refund applications on a same-day basis in principle. The refund operation cut-off time will be extended by two hours from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Submission of the documents required for refund review will also be minimized as much as possible, enabling companies to receive refunds more quickly.

A representative of Gwangju Main Customs stated, “We will do our utmost to support customs clearance to ensure holiday essentials and raw materials needed for company production are supplied smoothly ahead of Chuseok,” and added, “We also plan to process customs refunds promptly to reduce the financial burden on export companies.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.