Not all goods are allowed to be imported into South Korea, and not all goods imported into South Korea are subject to the same import mechanism. Similar to Vietnam and other countries in the world, South Korea also imposes import bans/restrictions, or special controls on certain goods. Therefore, before importing goods into the Korean market, importers need to determine the import category of their goods in order to determine the corresponding procedures. 

Goods imported into South Korea will be governed by the Foreign Trade Act and other domestic legal documents (depending on each item) and under the management of the respective ministries/agencies. In South Korea, there are 61 separate laws regulating mandatory import requirements/conditions and regulatory authorities for various imported products. Businesses can learn details about the List of products under certain condition at the following link:

https://docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/SS/directdoc.aspx?filename=q:/G/LIC/N3KOR13.pdf&Open=True

Source: Center for WTO and International Trade

• Overview of Procedures for importing goods into South Korea
• Determining the classification of goods imported into South Korea
• Determining tariffs, duties and fees of imported goods into South Korea
• Import declaration, payment of tariffs, taxes and customs clearance