Customs office steps up crackdown on tobacco smuggling

South Korea’s customs office said Monday that it will beef up monitoring and crackdown on tobacco smuggling amid growing demand for cheaper cigarettes ahead of a sharp price hike slated to be effective starting next year.

The moves come as the government is to raise tobacco prices by 2,000 won (US$1.78) per pack starting on Jan. 1, the first increase since December 2004. It represents an almost 80-percent increase in the average per-pack price in Korea.

According to the Korea Customs Service (KCS), the agency will strengthen its monitoring on shipments of duty-free cigarettes intended for exports as they could be routed back to the domestic market through fake documentation.

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