'Authenticity Certification Label' Attached to Products in Seoul Dongdaemun Fashion Town... Completely Preventing Label Switching

Seoul City Attaches 2.51 Million Domestic Clothing and Bags with KOMSCO Anti-Counterfeiting Technology
Origin Forgery Prevention... Expected to Restore Consumer Trust and Revitalize Commercial Areas

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 9th that it will produce 2.51 million 'authenticity certification labels' applying currency anti-counterfeiting technology and attach them to 'Made in KOREA' products such as clothing and bags produced by small business owners within the Dongdaemun Fashion Town Tourism Special Zone.

The labels can be scanned with a smartphone or a small detector to reveal the place of production and authenticity, fundamentally blocking illegal activities known as 'label switching,' where foreign low-priced goods are disguised and sold as domestic products, aiming to restore consumer trust and enhance the competitiveness of small business owners.

The authenticity certification labels distributed this time are equipped with security technology developed by the Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation. They apply 'fluorescent multiplexing technology,' which embeds security characters or images invisible to the naked eye into the label, and use latent printing, variable QR codes, and real coding to verify authenticity. When a small detector is placed on the authenticity certification label, a genuine product emits a sound, but a fake label does not.

The city expects this pilot project to help improve consumer awareness and trust in domestically produced products made and distributed by small business owners, as well as revitalize the commercial district of Dongdaemun Fashion Town and strengthen the competitiveness of domestic products.

The distribution targets for the authenticity certification labels are small business owners who operate (based on business registration) within Dongdaemun Fashion Town, have fully paid national and local taxes, and directly plan or manufacture clothing and bags. However, products violating origin labeling, counterfeit goods, imported products, consignment sales products, and products lacking safety labeling are excluded from the project.

The city plans to start with 2.51 million labels this year, expand to 25 million labels for 500 companies next year, and further increase to 100 million labels for 1,000 companies in 2023.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.