Seoul City Arrests 91 Dealers for Selling Counterfeit Golf Apparel Worth 2.6 Billion KRW

Counterfeit Goods Seized Including 8,749 Items of Golf Hats, Apparel, and Belts

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government's Civil Affairs Judicial Police Unit announced on the 20th that it has investigated 91 vendors who sold counterfeit products infringing trademark rights at online open markets and large shopping centers in the Dongdaemun and Namdaemun areas since January this year to eradicate trademark infringement activities.

According to the Civil Affairs Judicial Police Unit, out of the 91 individuals booked on violation charges, 83 have completed investigations and were sent to the prosecution. Eight are still under investigation. They sold or stored a total of 8,749 counterfeit items such as golf apparel, belts, and hats bearing forged logos of famous brands, which, when converted to estimated genuine product value, amount to 2.6 billion KRW.

The seized counterfeit goods include 3,254 pairs of shoes (genuine value 480 million KRW), 2,513 pieces of clothing (770 million KRW), 1,267 belts (420 million KRW), 1,064 accessories (680 million KRW), 254 hats (70 million KRW), 227 mufflers (71 million KRW), 118 wallets (87 million KRW), 39 neckties (11 million KRW), and 13 bags (22 million KRW).

The Civil Affairs Judicial Police Unit focused on the increase in golf activity population due to COVID-19 overseas travel restrictions and conducted an intensive five-month investigation into counterfeit golf apparel and related products, resulting in the booking of 40 distributors and sellers of counterfeit golf-related products. The scale of seized counterfeit goods includes 2,225 pieces of golf apparel (genuine value 736 million KRW), 3,230 pairs of golf shoes (461 million KRW), 261 golf belts (140 million KRW), and 204 golf hats (67 million KRW).

In particular, the unit demonstrated its determination to root out not only sellers of counterfeit golf-related products but also offline suppliers by conducting comprehensive on-site investigations targeting online sales sites, downtown wholesale markets, Dongdaemun yellow tents, and large golf practice ranges to identify suspects involved in counterfeit golf product transactions. Distributing, selling, or storing counterfeit goods that infringe on famous brands’ trademarks constitutes trademark infringement under the Trademark Act and is punishable by up to seven years imprisonment or a fine of up to 100 million KRW.

Citizens who discover vendors selling counterfeit products infringing trademark rights can report them through various methods such as the smartphone app (Seoul Smart Complaint Report), the Seoul city website (Civil Affairs Crime Report Center), phone (120 Dasan Call Foundation), visits, or mail. Seoul City offers rewards of up to 200 million KRW to citizens who report criminal acts with decisive evidence.

Meanwhile, the Civil Affairs Judicial Police Unit also introduced three major tips to help citizens avoid purchasing counterfeit products. They emphasized paying special attention to products that are noticeably lower in quality and price compared to genuine items, products whose labels do not properly indicate the manufacturer, country of origin, or quality marks, and cases where customer reviews frequently question the authenticity of the product.

Choi Han-cheol, head of the Economic Investigation Division of the Seoul Civil Affairs Judicial Police Unit, said, “We will continue to actively pursue investigations against distributors and sellers of counterfeit products. Especially as domestic online sales continue to grow, we will focus on intelligence activities and investigations to protect major trademarks and industries.”

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