The National Law Information Center has posted the partial amendment of the Enforcement Decree of the Foreign Trade Act (Presidential Decree No. 36776), which is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources. It was promulgated on October 20, 2026 and took effect on October 22, 2026. Following the amendment of the Foreign Trade Act (Act No. 21568), it sets out the grounds for import and export restriction and prohibition measures, the provision of preferential tariff statistics, and the procedure for designating trade agreement utilization support institutions.
- Investigation of import and export restrictions: The grounds for an investigation for special measures changed to the grounds in each subparagraph of Article 5 of the Act (excluding war, incident, or natural disaster in subparagraph 1 and the case in subparagraph 4). The Minister of Trade, Industry and Resources may ask trade operators for cooperation, such as submitting data, when needed for the investigation.
- Preferential tariff statistics: The statistics the Minister of Trade, Industry and Resources may request from the Commissioner of the Korea Customs Service are the import and export value of goods eligible for the preferential tariff, the import and export value of goods that received the preferential tariff, and the preferential tariff utilization rate. If trade secrets need protection, the Commissioner of the Korea Customs Service may de-identify the information before processing it.
- Designation criteria: A trade agreement utilization support institution must have a permanent organization and office, and must continuously employ at least 1 person who holds a customs broker or attorney qualification or a qualification in a field related to origin management, trade or commerce, holds a bachelor's degree or higher, or has at least 2 years of experience in the field.
- Revocation: The designation may be revoked if the institution fails to meet the criteria for 6 months or longer, or does not carry out the support program for 6 months or longer without a justifiable reason. A hearing is held before revocation, and the designation and revocation are announced on the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources website.
- Transitional measure: If an institution or corporation already carrying out the support program before the effective date has been designated as a trade agreement utilization support institution, it must meet the designation criteria by April 22, 2027.