▲ Containers are stacked at a port in the southeastern city of Busan in this Aug. 6, 2026, file photo. (Yonhap)

By Kang Yoon-seung

SEOUL, Aug. 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's customs agency said Tuesday it coordinated with Malaysian authorities to reduce the time needed to issue free trade agreement (FTA) certificates of origin for condensate imports.

The Korea Customs Service (KCS) said the processing time recently has been shortened from 184 days to 45 days. The process previously took significantly longer than in other countries due to a complex transaction structure involving South Korean importers, Singaporean brokers and Malaysian exporters.

Due to the delay, South Korean importers had to pay tariffs upfront and receive refunds under the FTA arrangement months later, adversely affecting their cash flow, according to the KCS.

The customs agency said it held 15 rounds of working-level consultations with Malaysia's Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry to address the issue.

The KCS said the shortened processing time will improve South Korean importers' financial liquidity and help them diversify their supply sources beyond the Middle East.

"Stabilizing crude oil supplies and diversifying supply chains have become increasingly important amid uncertainties in the Middle East and concerns over a potential closure of the Strait of Hormuz," Han Min, director general for international affairs at the KCS, said in a release.

"We will continue to proactively address trade barriers hampering our companies' utilization of FTAs," it added.

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