Pack jerky, sausages or ham bought abroad and you must make a quarantine declaration on arrival in Korea, separate from customs. Article 36(1), proviso, of the Act on the Prevention of Contagious Animal Diseases says anyone bringing designated quarantine items as traveller’s goods must report to the animal quarantine office at the airport or port immediately on entry and be inspected. Breaking this means a fine of up to 10 million won under Article 60(2). The Decree’s Schedule 3 sets amounts: pork or pork products from a country with African swine fever (ASF) without a certificate cost 5 million won the first time, 7.5 million the second, 10 million from the third. Here is the text with a fine calculator.
1. Meat, ham, sausages, eggs and other animal products: declare to quarantine on arrival (Art. 36(1), proviso).
2. Fail to and you are fined — ASF-country pork 5, 7.5 or 10 million won; other products 1, 3 or 5 million won.
3. Products with a certificate still need declaring — otherwise 50,000, 100,000 or 500,000 won.
What must be declared — Arts. 31, 36(1)
| Type | What the source says | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Designated items (Art. 31) | 1. Animals and carcasses 2. Bones, meat, hides, eggs, hair, hooves, horns and other animal products and their containers 3. Feed, hay, bedding and the like that may spread disease — as listed by Ministry ordinance | Ham, sausage and jerky read as products made from meat (our reading) |
| Travellers (Art. 36(1), proviso) | Anyone bringing designated items as traveller’s goods must report on entry to the animal quarantine office at the airport or port and be inspected | We did not read the ordinance’s detailed list |
| Inspection (Art. 30(4) etc.) | Quarantine officers may inspect designated items, containers and other traveller’s goods and ask questions | — |
Banned regardless of declaring — Arts. 32, 56
| Type | What the source says | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Import ban (Art. 32(1)) | 1. Designated items produced in, sent from or passing through banned regions the Minister designates 2. Pathogens of animal diseases 3. Beef and beef products 30 months or older from a country within 5 years of a BSE case 4. Specified risk material | Which countries are banned regions is in the notice |
| Penalty (Art. 56) | Breaching Art. 32(1): up to 3 years’ imprisonment or a fine of up to 30 million won | Criminal, not an administrative fine |
The administrative fine (failing to declare) and the criminal penalty (importing banned goods) have different bases. Whether goods a traveller carries fall under Arts. 32 and 56 depends on the notice and the facts, so this page counts only the fine for not declaring (our reading).
The fines — Decree Schedule 3, item 2(mu)
| Not declared | 1st / 2nd / 3rd+ | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| 1) Animals banned from international trade under CITES | 3, 4, 5 million won | — |
| 2) Other animals | 700,000 won, 1 million, 2 million won | Live animals |
| 3)(a) Animal products without a certificate: pork or products containing pork made in an ASF country (as published by the Minister under Art. 3-2(3)) | 5, 7.5, 10 million won | Dumplings or sausages with pork count as “containing” (our reading) |
| 3)(b) Other animal products without a certificate | 1, 3, 5 million won | Beef or chicken products, eggs and so on |
| 4) Animal products with a certificate attached | 50,000, 100,000, 500,000 won | A certificate doesn’t remove the duty to declare |
The schedule counts in units of 10,000 won; it is the version amended 21 April 2026 (some items in force from 23 April 2026). The heaviest amount, 10 million won from the third time, equals the 10 million won ceiling in Art. 60(2).
Calculator
Updates as you choose. Amounts are the Decree’s individual standards (in units of 10,000 won). The authority may cut them by up to half in the cases listed in the general rules, but not for anyone in arrears with fines. Separate from any criminal penalty for importing banned goods.
Which time it is, and reductions — Schedule 3 general rules
| Type | What the source says | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Increase (ga) | Higher amounts apply when fined for the same breach within the last 3 years, counted from the date of the earlier fine to the date caught again | After 3 years it is a first time again |
| Order (na) | The step is the next one after the earlier fine’s step; fines before the date 3 years back from detection are not counted | — |
| Reduction (da) | For reasons in the Decree of the Act on the Regulation of Violations of Public Order, minor carelessness or error, or efforts to put it right, the amount may be cut by up to half | No reduction while in arrears with fines |
| Who fines (Act Art. 60(4)) | The Agriculture Minister, the animal quarantine office head, provincial governors, mayors, county heads and district heads | — |
Three cases — our examples
| Case (our example) | Fine | Worth noting (our sum) |
|---|---|---|
| Pork sausage bought in an ASF country, not declared, first time | 5 million won | Down to 2.5 million won if a half reduction is granted |
| Same person caught again 2 years later | 7.5 million won | Second time within 3 years |
| Jerky with a certificate, just not declared | 50,000 won | 500,000 won from the third time |
Which countries count as ASF countries is set by the Minister’s published list, which we did not read this time. A reduction is something the authority “may” grant, so the calculator’s lower figure is only the possible range.
Checklist
- ☐ Any meat, ham, sausage, jerky, eggs or other animal products in your bag?
- ☐ If so, declare to animal quarantine on arrival — even with a certificate
- ☐ Especially pork products — from an ASF country it is 5 million won the first time
- ☐ The tax allowance is separate — duty-free allowance for travellers entering Korea
Questions that remain
Does writing it on the customs form count as the quarantine declaration?
Art. 36 says to report “to the head of the animal quarantine office”. How the customs form and the quarantine declaration are handled together is not in the provisions we read; follow the arrivals hall guidance.
What about tinned or processed food?
Art. 31 lists animal products and their containers and leaves the detailed list to Ministry ordinance. We did not read it, so we do not say whether processing takes an item out.
Lost a passport or card as well?
See lost passport for Korean citizens and lost or stolen credit card abroad.
Sources
- Korean law database (law.go.kr) — Act on the Prevention of Contagious Animal Diseases Arts. 31, 32, 36, 56, 60 — source (effective 1 October 2026, Act No. 21504; checked 29 October 2026). Designated items 1–3, import bans 1–4, travellers reporting on entry, 3 years or 30 million won for banned imports, fines up to 10 million won for not declaring, and who imposes them.
- Korean law database — Enforcement Decree Art. 16 and Schedule 3 — source (effective 21 April 2026, Decree No. 36267; Schedule 3 amended 21 April 2026; checked 29 October 2026). General rules on increases, order and reductions; item 2(mu) 1)–4) amounts.
- Not read. The Ministry ordinance’s detailed list, the banned-region notice, the published ASF country list, livestock product hygiene law.
- What we added. The “worth noting” column and the Korean everyday gloss.
Where to check further
- Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, airport quarantine — what may be brought in, the ASF country list.
- Customs — the duty-free allowance and the traveller’s declaration.
Written on 29 October 2026. The content is from the source; the glosses are ours.
