Seoul City to Conduct Intensive Crackdown on 'Fake Children's Products' Ahead of Children's Day

Distribution, sale, and storage of counterfeit goods punishable by up to 7 years imprisonment or a fine up to 100 million won under the Trademark Act

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government's Civil Life Judicial Police Unit announced on the 25th that it plans to conduct intensive crackdowns and investigations on counterfeit product sales related to children's clothing, stationery, and toys until May 15, anticipating an increase in such activities ahead of Children's Day in May.

The targets of this intensive crackdown and investigation include transactions of counterfeit children's luxury clothing and toys sold through online open markets, as well as children's clothing, stationery, toys, shoes, and accessories sold in offline wholesale and retail markets.

For offline stores, clear illegal activities identified during on-site guidance will result in the voluntary submission of products on the spot. For suspected counterfeit online products, investigators will directly purchase the items and request appraisal evaluations. If confirmed counterfeit, seizure, search, and warrant execution related to transaction records will be conducted simultaneously.

In particular, since most cases lack clear explanations or responses regarding authenticity in product details or inquiry boards when purchasing through online open markets, the Seoul Metropolitan Government urges citizens to exercise careful attention and to refer to detected cases and tips for distinguishing counterfeit products when making purchases.

Meanwhile, last year, Seoul detected a total of 3,400 counterfeit items ranging from shoes to hats bearing famous brand logos, among which 459 were counterfeit children's products. The detections were mainly concentrated from February to May.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government requests citizens to report and tip off counterfeit product sellers via the Seoul city website. If citizens contribute to public interest by reporting criminal acts with decisive evidence, rewards of up to 200 million KRW are provided according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government Ordinance on Protection and Support for Public Interest Whistleblowers.

Kang Ok-hyun, head of the Seoul Civil Life Judicial Police Unit, said, “Ahead of Children's Day in May, we plan to intensively crack down on sellers who hurt children's innocence by selling counterfeit children's luxury goods, and we ask citizens to actively report any suspected counterfeit products to maintain a healthy commercial order.”

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