[2026 Parliamentary Audit] 1,860 Drug Cases Detected Among Air Travelers in Past Five Years... No Means to Stop Assaults, Threats or Fleeing During Customs Inspections

Rep. Yoon Hoodeok: Survey of Incheon Airport Customs
Verbal abuse and threats: 51.5%... Leaving the inspection area or fleeing: 20.3%

Over the past five years, customs officials have detected drugs carried by air travelers in 1,860 cases. Meanwhile, verbal abuse, threats, and attempts to flee have frequently obstructed inspections at customs checkpoints. Critics say that current law lacks a clear basis for immediately stopping such conduct on site, and that measures to address it are needed.

The Korea Customs Service said on the 3rd that it had seized 39 cases involving a total of 7.1 kg of narcotics during the third Korea-U.S. joint operation against drug smuggling, conducted throughout June with major U.S. drug enforcement agencies. The photo shows a detection dog inspection at the express cargo center at Incheon International Airport. Yonhap News Agency

A survey of 214 officials at Incheon Airport Customs, conducted from September 28 through October 6 by Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Yoon Hoo-deok, a member of the National Assembly’s Finance and Economy Planning Committee, found that 86.9% of respondents (186 people) had experienced inspection obstruction.

Among those who had experienced inspection obstruction, 97.3% (181 people) said they encountered it at least once a month. The proportion who said they experienced it at least five times a month reached 32.3% (60 people).

Verbal abuse and threats were the most common forms of obstruction, at 51.5%. They were followed by leaving the inspection area or fleeing (20.3%), damaging inspection facilities or items subject to inspection (14.5%), and assault or physical contact (4.7%). There was also a confirmed case in which someone took a utility knife used for inspections and injured an inspection officer.

When obstruction occurred, officials mainly handled it themselves, issuing verbal warnings (39.5%) or asking colleagues for help (34.7%). Staff cited psychological stress and anxiety (36%), delays to work and disruption of inspections (32.8%), and delays in customs clearance for other travelers (25.8%) as their main difficulties.

Lawmaker Yoon said that while the current Customs Act provides for penalties after inspection obstruction has occurred, it lacks a clear basis for immediately stopping or controlling disruptive behavior or attempts to flee on site. The Korea Customs Service’s manual for handling abusive complaints also goes no further than advising staff to verbally ask people to leave and avoid physical contact.

Among staff who had experienced inspection obstruction, 96.8% (180 people) said the scope of such conduct and the means of stopping and controlling it should be clearly defined. Suggested improvements included establishing a legal basis for physically stopping people immediately on site (32.5%) and clearly defining the scope and standards for inspection obstruction (32.3%).

“To thoroughly prevent prohibited or restricted goods, such as drugs and firearms, from entering or leaving the country at the border, we need clear rules on inspection obstruction and means of maintaining order that can be enforced immediately on site,” Yoon said. “Based on a survey of the current situation, I plan to sponsor an amendment to the Customs Act that would define the scope of inspection obstruction in detail and establish a legal basis for a graduated response, including physical restraint, audio and video recording, and temporary custody of items subject to inspection.”

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