“Sae-bit Market Seizes Counterfeit Goods Worth 3.3 Billion Won This Year, 18 Cases Reported”

In a joint crackdown targeting Saebit Market this year, counterfeit goods worth approximately 3.3 billion KRW were seized, and 18 people were booked.

According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) on the 23rd, the 'Saebit Market Counterfeit Goods Investigation Council (hereinafter referred to as the Council)' conducted a joint crackdown from the 5th to the 12th of this month around Saebit Market in Dongdaemun, Seoul, seizing 836 counterfeit items of famous brands such as clothing and bags, and booked Mr. A (58) for violating the Trademark Act without detention for selling counterfeit goods.

The 6th joint crackdown is being conducted at Saebit Market site. Photo by the Korean Intellectual Property Office

The Council was launched in February this year with participation from KIPO, Seoul Metropolitan Government, Jung-gu Office of Seoul, and Jungbu Police Station in Seoul. Considering the operational characteristics of Saebit Market, where over 100 tents operate closely together during nighttime hours, there was a shared recognition that individual crackdowns had limitations, which led to the formation of the Council.

Since its launch, the Council has continued crackdowns five times in March, May, July, and twice in September. This month’s operation was the sixth crackdown of the year, conducted out of concern that sales of counterfeit goods would increase during the year-end and New Year’s special demand periods such as Christmas.

To enhance the effectiveness of the crackdown, from the fourth joint operation onward, the Council designated specific weeks for enforcement and continued inspections by each participating agency. This month’s crackdown was carried out in a relay format, starting with the Jung-gu Office of Seoul in May and followed by other participating institutions.

With the Council’s successive crackdowns, the number of seized counterfeit goods and booked individuals steadily increased.

The seized counterfeit goods totaled 1,644 items in the first operation, 118 in the second, 104 in the third, 1,189 in the fourth, and 903 in the fifth. Among the counterfeit brands seized at Saebit Market, Malbon (498 items) was the most frequent, followed by Louis Vuitton (398 items), Moncler (360 items), Chanel (314 items), and PXG (310 items).

Counterfeit Goods Crackdown Statistics at Saebit Market. Provided by the Korean Intellectual Property Office

By item type, clothing was the most common with 3,273 items, followed by hats with 428 items, bags with 255 items, hair accessories with 197 items, and wallets with 161 items.

The number of people booked was 6 in the first operation, 4 in the second, 1 in the third, 3 in the fourth, and 3 in the fifth, occurring in every crackdown. Among the 18 people booked this year, 7 (39%) were first-time offenders, 3 (17%) were repeat offenders, and 8 (44%) had been booked three or more times (up to 11 times).

KIPO cited the relatively low level of punishment compared to the criminal profits as one of the reasons why cases of repeated bookings at Saebit Market are not uncommon.

For example, the average annual fines imposed on those booked were only 2.6 million KRW in 2019, 3.18 million KRW in 2020, 2.71 million KRW in 2021, 2.61 million KRW in 2022, and 3.79 million KRW last year, which KIPO analyzes as being low compared to the criminal profits that can be earned by selling counterfeit goods at Saebit Market.

Park Ju-yeon, head of the Trademark Special Judicial Police Division at KIPO, said, “As a result of continuous crackdowns around Saebit Market this year, it appears that merchants distributing counterfeit goods have noticeably decreased. The second phase of the Investigation Council plans to further strengthen coordinated investigations and administrative measures such as imposing fines for illegal parking next year, while also conducting an intellectual property respect campaign together with trademark owners and related organizations at Saebit Market to eradicate the distribution of counterfeit goods.”

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