The number of cases of foreign currency smuggling has increased significantly as security checks at ..
Strengthen security screening at Incheon International Airport
73 cases of fines in the second quarter → 117 cases
Self-reported cases also increased by 16% to 2,171 cases
![[Photo provided = Yonhap News]](https://wimg.mk.co.kr/news/cms/202607/12/news-p.v1.20221202.0d3f9c0cdc7d4c9f8350d90f58a7a3d0_P1.jpg)
The number of cases of foreign currency smuggling has increased significantly as security checks at Incheon International Airport have been strengthened since the foreign currency smuggling method using “bookmark dollars” was known.
According to the Incheon International Airport Headquarters Customs on the 12th, 117 cases were fined for smuggling foreign currency from Incheon International Airport between April and June this year, up 60.2% from the same period (73 cases) last year.
During the same period, the number of requests for investigation on charges of smuggling foreign currency exceeding $30,000 also increased 64.7% from 17 to 28.
Under the current regulations, 5% of the violation amount will be imposed as a fine if foreign currency is caught exporting less than $30,000 in excess of $10,000 without customs declaration. If it exceeds $30,000, it will be subject to investigation, and if the charges are admitted, it could be sentenced to up to one year in prison or fined up to 100 million won.
In fact, in this crackdown, a foreigner A was caught during a security check process after hiding tens of millions of won worth of dollars in a thermos bottle. Another foreigner, B, was caught on an X-ray search while trying to take out 100,000 Hong Kong dollars (about 1.9 million won) in a bag without a separate report. In some cases, a fine was imposed for hiding cash in a health functional food container.
![Incheon International Airport security and customs officials are looking at the X-ray reading screen. [Yonhap News]](https://wimg.mk.co.kr/news/cms/202607/12/rcv.YNA.20260624.PYH2026062406680001300_P1.jpg)
Incheon International Airport Customs established a department dedicated to foreign currency inspection at the end of March after the possibility of smuggling “bookmark dollars” was raised, and Incheon International Airport Corporation provided related facilities and equipment.
Earlier in December last year, President Lee Jae Myung asked for crackdown measures on the method of inserting dollars into bookmarks and taking them out. At the time, former Incheon International Airport Corporation President Lee Hak-jae was publicly reprimanded for failing to give a clear answer, and Lee later refuted on social media, saying, “On the contrary, it is widely known that ‘if you hide dollars in a bookmark, it will not be searched.”
Since then, Incheon International Airport Corporation and Incheon International Airport Customs have established a “double blocking system” linking security checks and X-ray readings and conducted a foreign currency voluntary reporting campaign.
As a result, the number of voluntary reports of foreign currency exports from April to June this year was 2,171, up 16% from the same period last year (1872).
An official from Incheon International Airport Customs said, “We are also considering introducing an automatic banknote detection algorithm using artificial intelligence (AI) with Incheon International Airport Corporation.”
