200,000 Cases of Domestic Disguised 'Chinese Manhole Covers' Detected

The Seoul Customs Headquarters of the Korea Customs Service has uncovered a large number of companies that disguised Chinese-made manhole covers as domestic products by damaging the origin labels and distributed them in the market. The photo shows a product with the origin label intact (left) and a product after the label was damaged (right). Photo by Korea Customs Service

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] A company that disguised Chinese-made manhole covers as domestic products and distributed them in the market was caught in a customs crackdown.

The Seoul Regional Customs Office of the Korea Customs Service announced on the 24th that it had uncovered 11 companies violating origin labeling regulations through a comprehensive crackdown on origin labeling.

These companies are suspected of intentionally damaging origin labels by removing them, thereby violating origin labeling regulations.

At the time of import, the manhole covers were marked with 'MADE IN CHINA,' but after being brought into the country, the origin was erased through plating work and sold.

It was confirmed that about 200,000 Chinese-made manhole covers intended for distribution in this manner are worth approximately 18.8 billion KRW in market value.

In particular, although only domestic products are allowed when supplying manhole covers to public institutions, these companies removed the origin labels from Chinese-made products and distributed manhole covers for water meters and traffic signals.

The problem is that low-priced, low-quality manhole covers have poor durability, which can pose a serious threat to the safety of vehicles and pedestrians.

Accordingly, the Seoul Regional Customs Office has been conducting a comprehensive crackdown on origin labeling since last month to prevent low-priced foreign manhole covers from being disguised and distributed as domestic products.

Kim Kwang-ho, head of the Seoul Regional Customs Office, said, “Poor-quality manhole covers are identified as a cause of major damage during floods,” and added, “As a leading institution protecting public safety, the Seoul Regional Customs Office plans to strengthen its enforcement capabilities to eradicate illegal activities that threaten public safety.”

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