2 Million Units of 'Illegally Imported Goods' Detected in Open Markets and Distribution Channels

A large number of illegally imported goods intended for online distribution and sales through open markets were seized.

Provided by Korea Customs Service

The Korea Customs Service announced on the 3rd that it had seized over 2 million illegally imported items in the first half of this year. The total market value of these goods amounts to approximately 30 billion KRW.

The seized items mainly included ▲ intellectual property rights infringements such as bags and clothing counterfeit of famous brands ▲ food products like diet supplements that did not meet import requirements under the Food Sanitation Act and Imported Food Act ▲ electrical products such as adapters that failed to comply with import requirements under the Electrical Appliances Safety Control Act and Radio Waves Act.

The primary online distribution channels for these illegally imported goods were identified as open markets (39%), where peer-to-peer transactions are active, and social networking services (SNS, 30%). These platforms were exploited to distribute illegal imports directly between sellers and buyers.

For example, in June, a seller was caught smuggling over 2,000 counterfeit Chinese products (with a genuine market value of about 500 million KRW) via international mail and listing them on multiple open markets with “genuine bag import declaration certificates,” disguising the counterfeit goods as authentic products imported from the United States.

Earlier in April, a seller was caught illegally importing over 30,000 items of food, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics (with a genuine market value of about 300 million KRW) without permission or approval from relevant authorities, using multiple other people’s names to make it appear as personal use items. This seller used social networking services to falsely present the illegally imported goods as legitimate imports before being apprehended.

Considering the increasing cases of illegal imports being distributed online, the Korea Customs Service has been conducting a “Distribution Status Survey of Illegally Imported Goods” targeting open markets and other online sales intermediaries since 2020.

The survey focuses on examining the management of cyber mall registration information by online sales intermediaries, manpower, technology, and systems to prevent the distribution of illegal imports, and consumer protection measures against the distribution of such goods.

This year, taking into account that open markets are the main channels for illegal imports, the Korea Customs Service emphasizes that the survey scope will be expanded beyond existing medium and large open markets to include online sales intermediaries specializing in luxury goods and interior products.

The survey will begin this month, and the results will be reviewed by a deliberation committee and announced at the end of the year after consultation with the Fair Trade Commission.

A Korea Customs Service official stated, “To eradicate the inflow of illegally imported goods that threaten public health and safety amid the rise of overseas direct purchases, we plan to strengthen inspections from the border stage,” and added, “We also urge the public to actively report smuggling or sales of illegal goods.”

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