Open Market Entry: Fake Goods Sales Organization Worth 20 Billion Won Caught

A group that has been selling counterfeit clothing through open markets was caught by customs authorities. The photo shows the seized counterfeit products. Photo by Seoul Main Customs Office

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] A group that distributed counterfeit (hereinafter fake) clothing worth about 20 billion won through a famous open market was caught by customs authorities.

The Seoul Main Customs Office announced on the 9th that it had booked four people, including Mr. A, for violating the Trademark Act and sent them to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.

It was revealed that Mr. A and others took advantage of the spread of COVID-19 to manufacture and distribute more than 250,000 pieces of fake clothing bearing famous overseas brand names.

The Seoul Main Customs Office, in cooperation with the National Intelligence Service, conducted raids on the offices of import companies operated by the fake manufacturing and distribution organization and secret warehouses of distributors, seizing more than 60,000 pieces of fake clothing and famous brand labels.

Mr. A and others imported small quantities of genuine clothing from the United States and posted the corresponding import declaration certificates on eight open markets to deceive consumers into thinking they were selling genuine products.

Using this method, Mr. A’s group delivered more than 190,000 pieces of fake clothing to buyers, earning unfair profits worth about 6 billion won, according to the Seoul Main Customs Office.

In particular, Mr. A and others showed meticulousness by setting up clothing manufacturing facilities in residential areas of Seoul to mass-produce fake clothing, then storing them dispersedly in two secret warehouses located in the Seoul and Gyeonggi metropolitan areas to avoid detection by investigative agencies.

Also, during the process of selling fake clothing through open markets, they used business licenses under other people's names and withdrew sales proceeds in cash, which is believed to have been a method to launder criminal proceeds.

The Seoul Main Customs Office also detected signs that some fake clothing was smuggled from overseas and is currently tracking the smuggling organization in cooperation with the National Intelligence Service.

The Seoul Main Customs Office stated, "If fake products are sold in the market, the damage inevitably falls entirely on consumers," and added, "Customs will strengthen crackdowns to eradicate illegal activities that infringe intellectual property rights, which hinder fair competition, as well as those that disrupt customs clearance and distribution order."

They also urged, "Consumers need to exercise careful attention by closely comparing prices, origin, and product conditions when purchasing products from places other than official brand shopping malls."

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