Brief introduction to Korea’s non -
preferential rules of origin system  Contents  
1 Korea’s Rules of Origin  
2 Korea’s Non -Preferential Rules of Origin  
3 Korea’s Origin Marking  
4 Questionnaire by Secretariat   To determine , verify,  and mark  the country of origin of 
imported and exported goods.  
•Criteria to determine origin  
•Procedures to submit the documents necessary to 
confirm the origin  
•Give consumers information about origin  
Korea’s Rules of O rigin (1)  
 1. Korea’s Rules of Origin(2)  
  - Foreign Trade Act  
  -  Enactment / Amendment of the relevant law : Ministry  
     of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE)  
  - Enforcement (e.g. checking origin markings at  
    customs clearance)  : Korea Customs Service  
  - To protect consumers’ rights and interests by   
     providing them with accurate information about the  
     country of origin  
   - To maintain fair trade practices  Applicable 
Law 
Entities in 
charge  
Purpose  
1. Korea’s Rules of Origin(3)  
   
Preferential      Rules of 
Origin
  
  ♦ Purpose  
  - To grant tariff 
benefits  
  ♦Basis  
 - FTA, APTA, GSP , etc.       
Non
 -
Preferential Rules of 
Origin 
  
  ♦ Purpose  
  - Origin marking  
  - Trade remedy 
measures, etc.  
  ♦ Basis 
  - Foreign Trade Act  
 Preferential rules of origin and other rules are separately administered.  
  - The two categories use different criteria to identify origin and certificate of origin.  
1.   
  
   
    Substantial   
Transformation  
       Criteria  
 
Tariff Shift  
       Rule  
 
   Processing  
Operation Rule  
Value -added  
      Rule  
         Wholly  
       Obtained  
        Criteria  
Korea’s Non -Preferential rules of O rigin (1)  
 2. Korea’s Criteria for Non -Preferential 
Origin(2)   
 2. 
 B. If a good is produced in more than one country  
Of Substantial Transformation Criteria, HS6 digit change is used as a 
basic principle.  
For some goods, value -added or key processing criteria are used.  
    ☞  Cameras, livestock (cow, pig), garments, textiles  
For countries where a good is produced through simple processing, 
origin will not be granted even though the good experiences HS 6 
digit change.  
 A. If  a good is produced in one country  
 Apply Wholly Obtained Criteria       Even  though HS code has been changed,  
     Country of origin is country A as cutting is    
     considered as a simple processing  
Country A  
•   Flat rolled stainless steel   
          Country B  
HS 7219 : over 600 mm in width  HS 7220 : less 600 mm in width    Cutting  
    → Flat stainless steel  Korea’s Criteria for Non -
Preferential Origin(3)   
2. 
Country A       Country B   Country C  Origin  
①Materials  Change of HS 6 [X]  Change of HS 6 [X]  Country A  
②Materials  Change of HS 6 [X]  Change of HS 6 [o]  Country C  
③Materials  Change of HS 6 [o]  Change of HS 6 [X]  Country B  
④Materials  Change of HS 6 [o]  Change of HS 6 [o]  Country C  
⑤Materials  Change of HS 6 [o]  Change of HS 6 [o]  
+ Simple processing  Country B  Korea’s Origin Marking   
 3. 
 B. General Principles for Origin Marking  
Marking on products (marking on package if possible; and exemption 
can be granted).  
Marking can be in both Korean and English.  
   - e.g. 한국산 , Made in KOREA, Product of Korea, etc.  
 A. Imports Subject to Origin Marking  
 Imported goods subject to origin marking by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and 
Energy  
  - 664 items with HS4  digit (493 industrial goods; and 171 agro -fishery products)  Korea’s Origin Marking for Exports  
 3. 
 B. Origin Marking  
No obligation for origin marking under the Foreign Trade Act  
     (The Act also forbids false marking.)  
We apply the  same origin marking to exports as imports . However, if the 
country of imports has different origin marking, it is possible to apply the 
foreign marking (Enforcement Ordinance No.56 -5). 
 A. Criteria of the Determination of Origin  
 We apply the  same criteria to exports as imports . However, if the country of 
imports has its own criteria of the determination of origin, it is possible to 
determine origin by the foreign criteria (Enforcement Ordinance No.61).  Questionnaire by Secretariat(1)  
 4. 
 B. If it does apply non -preferential rules of origin, what type  
    of rules are being applied(tariff change, value added,  
    product specific)?  
 
We primarily apply tariff change type.  
However,  we also apply other types, including value -added and 
processing operation rules.  
 A. Does your country apply non -preferential rules of origin at  
     present?  
 
 Yes, we do.  
 Questionnaire by Secretariat(2)  
 4. 
 D. What commercial instruments are these rules being applied   
     to (determination of customs duties, statistical purposes,  
     labeling, anti -dumping, etc.)?  
 
 
Labeling(Origin marking)  
 C. What objectives are being pursued with your current non - 
    preferential rules?  
 
 
 Main objective is origin marking on products which can provide consumers  
   with accurate information and protect  consumers from false marking  
 Questionnaire by Secretariat(3)  
 4. 
 E. In your view, does the multiplication of non -preferential  
    rules of origin create obstacles to international trade?  
 
 
 
 Korea has nine different FTA origin rules,  which demand a lots of time and  
   effort  from manufacturers and exporters to identify origin of goods     
 Harmonization of non -preferential rules of origin would create more  
   convenient  trade environment than the current situation.  Please refer additional questions about Korea’s 
non-preferential rules of origin to solaris@korea.kr