Gyeonggi-do, 13 People Criminally Charged for Illegal Distribution of Counterfeits... 2,072 Items Seized

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province has caught sellers who have been selling counterfeit overseas luxury goods (fakes) at mixed-use residential complexes, clothing stores on cafe streets, and golf practice ranges.

On the 22nd, the head of the Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police for Fair Trade announced that from May 1 to June 10, after intensively investigating the manufacturing and sales of counterfeit goods, 13 people were criminally charged for trademark law violations, and 2,072 items worth approximately 1.42 billion KRW were seized.

The special judicial police deployed two teams consisting of 12 investigators and a luxury goods authentication specialist company (BPS) for this investigation. The investigation team conducted undercover inquiries at 180 stores across 15 commercial dense urban areas in six regions: Suwon, Yongin, Seongnam, Hwaseong, Bucheon, and Siheung.

The total number of counterfeit famous brand products seized was 2,072 items, valued at about 1.42 billion KRW. Among the trademarks, Titleist golf products accounted for the largest number with 1,610 items. This was followed by PXG with 119 items, and Chanel, Prada, Dior, Louis Vuitton, etc., totaling 343 items. By category, there were 1,963 clothing items, 19 bags, and 90 scarves, belts, shoes, and accessories.

In a major case, business A in City G operated an online golf clothing shopping mall and disguised itself as having overseas sales outlets to evade crackdowns. It handled counterfeit Titleist golf jackets, t-shirts, pants, hats, and socks through domestic online sales, which led to its capture in this operation. It was found that business A sold counterfeit golf pants, originally priced at 350,000 KRW, for 90,000 KRW, and sold counterfeit goods worth approximately 210 million KRW to 1,491 people over the past four months.

Business B in City N registered as a clothing wholesale business and rented a golf practice range in the province to sell 348 counterfeit golf clothing, hats, and belts imitating famous golf clothing brands such as Titleist, PXG, Mark & Lona, and Malbon Golf, before being caught. Business B sold counterfeit golf pants originally priced at 560,000 KRW for 100,000 KRW and belts worth 600,000 KRW for 90,000 KRW.

Business C in City D operated a clothing store near a cafe street and promoted itself on business cards as a specialty store for "loses" (products made in excess anticipating defects during production). It was caught for selling counterfeit goods as imported direct products, including Moncler and Saint Laurent clothing, and counterfeit Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Chanel scarves at 50-70% of the genuine market price. It was also revealed that they attempted tax evasion by encouraging cash payments.

Under current trademark and exclusive usage rights laws, violating trademark rights can result in imprisonment for up to seven years or fines up to 100 million KRW under the Trademark Act.

Kim Young-soo, head of the Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police for Fair Trade, emphasized, "Gyeonggi Province will strengthen comprehensive investigative capabilities for trademark law enforcement in cooperation with related agencies and trademark holders to prevent counterfeit goods from gaining a foothold."

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