Korean quarantine: meat and plant products, and the fine for not declaring

Korea has tightened its border quarantine substantially in response to African Swine Fever and other animal diseases. Travellers carrying meat products are the route these diseases travel, and the rules are enforced on arrival.

The penalty

Travellers who fail to make a quarantine declaration may be fined up to KRW 5 million under the Contagious Animal Diseases Prevention Act. The fine applies to the failure to declare, not only to items that turn out to be prohibited.

What you must declare

• Meat and meat products of any kind — including cured, dried and canned
• Dairy products and eggs
• Fresh fruit, vegetables, seeds and nuts
• Plants, soil, and items with soil on them
• Live animals, and anything used around animals

Things travellers assume are fine, and are not

• Sausage or jerky bought at the airport you departed from
• Home-made food packed by family
• Dried meat in instant noodle packets
• Fruit taken from the plane

The rule that keeps you safe

Declaring costs nothing. If the item is permitted you keep it; if it is not, it is disposed of and that is the end of it. The fine is for not declaring, so there is no situation in which staying quiet is the better option.

Source: Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency — Rules for overseas travellers