Bought It Thinking It Was Real… The Shocking Truth of "484 Times Exceeded"

[Anchor]

A family that sold counterfeit luxury goods through social media live broadcasts was busted by the police earlier this year. When authorities tested the seized counterfeit cosmetics, toxic substances such as methanol and lead were detected.

Reporter Hong Yeongjae has the details.

[Reporter]

A woman hosts a social media live broadcast, advertising that she is selling luxury wallets at low prices.

[Person A / SNS Broadcaster (Last February): Our place, you know, does Hermes well for the price. They are definitely in the genuine line. You know.]

Mid-broadcast, however, the police burst in.

[Person A / SNS Broadcaster (Last February): Just a moment. Someone is here. (We are here to execute a search warrant.)]

The products sold on the broadcast were so-called knockoffs, copying only the exterior designs of luxury brands.

Police seized 7,300 pieces of counterfeit goods worth 20 billion KRW based on retail prices, and the Korea Consumer Agency tested the safety of 34 products mimicking famous cosmetics such as Chanel and Dior among them.

As a result, toxic substances exceeding safety limits were detected in 11 products, which accounts to 32 percent.

Methanol was detected in six types of perfumes ranging from a minimum of 73.7 percent to a maximum of 96.9 percent, which exceeds the allowable limit by 368 to 484 times.

While genuine perfumes are made using ethanol, methanol costs only 13 percent of ethanol, prompting counterfeiters to use it despite its toxicity.

[Park Jun-yong / Head of the Hazard Management Team, Korea Consumer Agency: When absorbed into the body, methanol can cause vision loss, and prolonged exposure can lead to side effects such as central nervous system disorders.]

Some hand cream products were found to contain CMIT and MIT simultaneously, substances banned from use because they can cause allergic skin reactions as well as respiratory and eye irritation.

CMIT and lead components were also detected in lipsticks and body mists.

The Korea Consumer Agency advised that counterfeit cosmetics are highly likely to lack proper safety verification and hygiene management, and since they come into direct contact with the skin, users should immediately stop using them and discard them if confirmed to be fake.

(Video Editing: Lee Sang-min)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.