"Risk of Accidents" Exposed: Manufacturing and Distribution of Counterfeit Car Engine Parts

Officials from companies that mass-produced and distributed counterfeit automotive parts, including engines, were caught in a crackdown.

The Korea Intellectual Property Office's Special Trademark Police (hereinafter referred to as Trademark Police) announced on the 25th that from April to August, they cracked down on six companies manufacturing and distributing counterfeit automotive parts, seizing over 144,000 counterfeit parts of more than 20 types such as engines, camshafts, mufflers, and license plate frames, and booked eight individuals including Mr. A (60) without detention on charges of trademark law violations.

Provided by the Korean Intellectual Property Office

The seized counterfeit parts were investigated to have a total weight of 64 tons and an estimated genuine value of approximately 5.1 billion KRW. Among these were automotive drive-related parts directly linked to road safety, such as engines (about 32,000 pieces with a genuine value of approximately 3.9 billion KRW), and additional parts like counterfeit license plate frames (about 112,000 pieces with a genuine value of approximately 1.2 billion KRW).

According to the Trademark Police, Mr. A is suspected of mainly distributing overseas about 17,000 defective parts discarded by Hyundai and Kia parts manufacturers and unauthorized parts (without safety inspection certificates, labels, holograms, etc.) diverted from companies in the Gyeonggi-do area from 2011 to August this year, with a genuine value of about 2 billion KRW.

The Trademark Police emphasized that some of the counterfeit parts distributed by Mr. A were stored in unmanaged conditions, such as being corroded or containing rust water, which posed a high risk of safety accidents in vehicles using these parts.

Another counterfeit parts manufacturer and distributor, Mr. B (36), is suspected of manufacturing about 107,000 license plate frames engraved directly with Hyundai and Kia logos in the Gyeonggi-do area from 2019 to April this year, and distributing them to automobile registration offices nationwide and Hyundai and Kia car dealerships, with a genuine value of approximately 1.2 billion KRW.

The Trademark Police detected signs that counterfeit automotive parts were being manufactured and distributed in the market, and based on intelligence activities since April this year, they conducted raids and seizures at six companies including stores, warehouses, and logistics factories, uncovering the charges against Mr. A and others.

Park Ju-yeon, head of the Trademark Police, stated, “Manufacturing and distributing counterfeit automotive parts not only causes financial damage to consumers but also threatens the lives and safety of the public by potentially causing accidents. Moreover, if counterfeit parts are distributed overseas, it could damage the brand value that domestic automotive companies have built up in the global competitive environment.”

He added, “The Trademark Police will continue to conduct planned investigations to strictly crack down on counterfeit products that threaten public safety.”

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