Customs authorities have confiscated approximately 4.1 million counterfeit items violating intellectual property rights over a period of about two months.

The Korea Customs Service announced today (July 29) that as a result of operating a "special crackdown period on intellectual property-infringing goods" from May 4 to June 30, it blocked 452,927 counterfeit goods at the customs clearance stage and investigated 14 intellectual property infringement crimes, uncovering about 3.65 million counterfeit items.

Counterfeit goods detected at the customs clearance stage increased 2.5-fold compared to the same period last year (approximately 170,000 items), accounting for 38 percent of last year's annual crackdown total (approximately 1.17 million items).

By category, toys and stationery accounted for the largest share at 41.7 percent, followed by clothing at 26.4 percent, personal accessories at 8.9 percent, and bags at 6.2 percent.

Most of the confiscated items were foreign brands, but the haul also included counterfeit K-brand goods, such as domestic characters, cosmetics, and bags.

In the investigation of intellectual property rights crimes, authorities uncovered approximately 3.65 million counterfeit items with an estimated market value of 153 billion won.

This is seven times the scale detected during the same period last year (21.4 billion won).

Major cases included an apparel importer who manufactured, imported, and distributed domestically about 3.52 million items (worth 1.247 billion won at market value)—including clothing, bags, and hats—by unauthorized use of copyrighted works whose exclusive use contracts had expired.

Authorities also busted a distributor who received orders via online live broadcasts targeting locals in the Philippines, sent counterfeit designer bags through international mail, and stored counterfeit goods intended for export.

Additionally, a ring that smuggled counterfeit famous-brand clothing from Cambodia and sold them on online shopping malls as genuine products was apprehended.

(Photo provided by Korea Customs Service, Yonhap News)