Korea Customs Service Seizes 280,000 Counterfeit Goods in Two Months Amid Surge in Fake K-Brands

Approximately 280,000 counterfeit items attempting to enter the country over the past two months were intercepted during the customs clearance process.

The Korea Customs Service announced that it seized 280,733 counterfeit goods as a result of a special enforcement period targeting intellectual property rights violations conducted across 34 customs offices nationwide during August and September.

This accounts for about a quarter of last year's total annual seizures (approximately 1.17 million items), meaning an average of about 4,700 counterfeit products were filtered out at the border every day.

By category, toys and stationery accounted for the largest share at 33.4%.

This was followed by personal accessories at 24.8%, clothing at 12.4%, bags at 9.7%, and cosmetics at 2.0%.

While the vast majority (96.6%) of the counterfeit goods intercepted this time were foreign brands, items infringing on K-brands are also showing a sharp upward trend.

Counterfeit K-brand products caught in this crackdown reached 9,571 items, doubling from 4,744 items during the special crackdown in May and June of this year.
 
Domestic cosmetics such as Sulwhasoo, d'Alba, and AHC, as well as K-pop idol merchandise including BTS and IVE, were among the main items seized.

By entry route, general import cargo accounted for the largest share at 52.1%, while express shipping and postal items accounted for 46.2%.

The Korea Customs Service explained that this indicates counterfeit products are being heavily influxed through overseas direct purchases.

Park Jun-sung, head of the Clearance Examination Division, stated, "People easily purchase counterfeit goods because they are cheap, but the price can be the health and safety of our families," adding, "We will further strengthen enforcement against items that infringe on intellectual property rights."

(Photo courtesy of the Korea Customs Service, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.