I would appreciate an answer from an attorney who is well versed in the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act!

You were caught by customs while trying to leave the country carrying dollars.

Many cases occur, like yours, where a person carries funds without declaring them to customs when leaving or entering the country and is caught by customs.

In order to prevent the illegal inflow and outflow of capital, the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act requires a report where a means of payment exceeding a certain amount is imported or exported.

Under the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, where a means of payment (such as dollars) exceeding an amount of 10,000 dollars is imported or exported, a report to customs is required, and where a person fails to report and the violation amount is 30,000 dollars or less, an administrative fine of 5/100 of the violation amount is imposed.

If, however, the unreported amount exceeds 30,000 dollars, the case is referred to the prosecution, and imprisonment of up to 1 year or a fine of up to 100 million won may be imposed, and at that stage it is important to strongly demonstrate, with the assistance of a customs attorney, that there was no malicious purpose.

As such, because cases related to the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act require a high level of legal interpretation and procedural response, we recommend resolving the matter with the assistance of a customs attorney from the early stage.