Citation(s) from the GunPolicy.org literature library
South Korea. 2010 ‘Marking, Record Keeping and Tracing.’ National Report of the Republic of Korea on its Implementation of the United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (UNPoA); Section 9, pp. 17-18. New York, NY: Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations. 1 May
Relevant contents
9. Marking, record keeping and tracing
1) Military purposes
Pursuant to Article 53 of the Defense Acquisition Act, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) requires an authorized manufacturer to produce small arms and light weapons in accordance with the Directives of the Ministry of National Defense. The directives stipulate that marking comprises the caliber, model, serial number and country of manufacture. Marking should be done at the point of manufacture. All information on domestically manufactured small arms and light weapons are inputted into an integrated system of information regarding the status of the management of munitions. This system is utilized for tracing small arms and light weapons to be used for military purposes.
- All small arms and light weapons should have a marking which contains a serial number and information on the manufacturing country, manufacturer, type of model, year and month of manufacture.
- All markings are engraved on finished products by the way of intaglio using a roll or laser.
2) Non-military purposes
According to the Article 2 (4) of the Execution Regulation of the Firearms Control Act, information on the manufacturer, model and caliber should be marked on the left side of the receiver and initials of the manufacturer, year of manufacture and six-digit serial number on the right side of the receiver. The Article adds that the initials of the manufacturer, year of manufacture and six-digit serial number should be marked on the trigger.
Manufacturers and importers are permitted to manufacture and import only small arms and light weapons for which samples have successfully passed safety checks conducted by the Gun & Explosives Safety Technology Association (GESTA). One of the major criteria for such checks is compliance with the aforementioned regulations regarding marking. Small arms and light weapons that fail to comply with marking regulations are not permitted to be manufactured and imported.
All authorized possessors should submit full information regarding their authorized small arms and light weapons such as the country of manufacture, serial number, model, caliber, manufacturer, authorization number, authorized function, personal data of possessor, storage, etc. The information is inputted into the electronic system for management and safety of arms of GESTA. This system is used to trace small arms and light weapons to be used for non-military purposes.