By Yi Whan-woo
Customs officer Mun Sang-seon stands out in the Korea Customs Service’s (KCS) campaign against the smuggling of animal pharmaceuticals, amid a rising number of Koreans living with pets.
A team leader at KCS’ Seoul Regional Customs, Mun recently led his team in an unprecedented crackdown 1 billion won ($723,200) worth of veterinary drugs.
The seized drugs, estimated at 200,000 pills, would be enough to treat nearly 4 percent of the 540,000 dogs registered nationwide with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs if used all at once.
In recognition of his effort, he was named customs officer of the month for September.
“The crackdown that we carried out can be said to be the largest ever in terms of value and amount,” Mun said in a written interview with The Korea Times this week.
He speculated that, while the KCS does not have compiled data on smuggling of veterinary pharmaceuticals, the attempts to bring them in illegally from abroad is believed be “on the rise.”
Mun pointed out that at least one in 10 households in Korea has a dog or cat, and that the pet medication market has been growing correspondingly.
“I suspect that there should be more attempts to smuggle veterinary drugs, in order to dodge taxes and evade legal procedures required for importation,” he said.
The customs officer found the crime “a serious threat to animal health, and more broadly, for human health as the two are strongly linked,” as he reaffirmed his commitment to combating unapproved animal pharmaceuticals.
“The safety of these drugs is not guaranteed, so companion animals may not receive proper treatment if these drugs circulate in the market,” he said.
“And in the end, some germs, viruses and other sources of animal diseases can infect people,” he added.
Asked about his most memorable moment as a customer officer, Mun explained that he convinced a middleman who was caught for trying to evade tariffs to change his mind for the sake of the importers.
Serving more than 16 years at the KCS, he thanked his colleagues, saying “I wouldn’t have reached this far without the support of fellow officers.”
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