No matter how well-built a ship may be, it cannot safely cross stormy night seas alone. To arrive safely at one's desired destination, something is just as important as the ship's performance: the "lighthouses" that closely connect the sea routes. Approximately 20,000 lighthouses around the world illuminate from their respective positions, linking shipping lanes like a single network. This is the result of solidarity made possible because numerous countries have promised to illuminate each other's seas.
International cooperation among customs authorities works the same way. The era of closely connected people, capital, data, and logistics has opened up seas of broader opportunity, but has simultaneously brought fierce waves of complex trade risks and transnational crime. Now, no single nation's power alone can catch the two rabbits of trade facilitation and border security. The ultimate goal of international cooperation is clear: for customs authorities worldwide to willingly promise to become lighthouses from their respective positions, so that the citizens and businesses aboard our nation's ship can safely navigate along secure routes.
The Korea Customs Service has been embodying this spirit of national interest-centered pragmatic diplomacy in the field. At the end of last year, we visited North Macedonia and Egypt—sites where the Korean electronic customs clearance system (UNI-PASS) has been exported—to assess the direction of cooperation firsthand. Currently deployed to 16 countries across Asia, Africa, Central and South America, and Europe, this system is establishing itself as a global standard by helping each country's digital transformation of customs administration while providing Korean businesses with a familiar and predictable customs clearance environment. In January of this year, we signed a memorandum of understanding for intellectual property protection in the presence of Korean and Chinese leaders, opening the floodgates for bilateral cooperation to protect K-brands. Two weeks ago, we held a customs commissioners' meeting with Cambodia, completing a powerful drug interdiction network with all countries surrounding the Golden Triangle. This has been a process of lighting the lamps of cooperation one by one with various nations—expanding pathways through technology, reducing risks through coordination, and sitting down face-to-face.
Now is the time to gather these achievements and prepare for a greater leap forward. "Korea Customs Week (KCW 2026)," to be held for three days starting March 31, will serve as a "convergence point for global customs cooperation" where major customs authorities with close trade relations with Korea gather in one place. This event will directly address the hottest issues facing businesses. We will enable companies to hear directly from local experts about information they desperately need—such as the latest U.S. tariff policies, non-preferential rules of origin criteria, and the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)—and develop response strategies. We will hold seminars on improving the global customs clearance environment to strengthen partnerships among customs authorities with ASEAN and Central Asian countries. Through intensive bilateral meetings between customs authorities during the event, substantive communication will take place to lower customs barriers on the ground and derive practical cooperation measures on issues such as drug smuggling.
In 2025, our nation completed a record-breaking voyage of $700 billion in exports—a historic first—despite rough seas. This achievement was possible because the public and private sectors joined forces domestically while closely cooperating with customs authorities worldwide to maintain stable shipping lanes. The fog over the trade environment will persist this year as well, but with the solid international solidarity we have built, there is no reason we cannot overcome any waves.
A lighthouse's value shines brighter when the seas are rough than when they are calm. We hope that the map of cooperation to be drawn at KCW 2026 will connect lighthouses around the world as one and clear away the uncertainty cast over the seas of trade. The Korea Customs Service will continue to lead global customs administration standards and fulfill its responsibility as a supporter backing the safety of our citizens and the growth of our businesses.