Chinese Cosmetics Counterfeited as K-Brands... Customs Authorities Bust Smuggling and Distribution Operation

A distributor who smuggled Chinese-made cosmetics and disguised them as domestic brands for online sales has been caught by customs authorities.

The Incheon Regional Customs Office of the Korea Customs Service announced on the 24th that it had apprehended and referred Ms. A (a woman in her 50s), the head of an e-commerce company, to the prosecution on charges of violating the Trademark Act, the Customs Act, and the Cosmetics Act.

According to the Incheon Customs Office, Ms. A is accused of smuggling around 7,000 Chinese-made cosmetics (worth approximately 800 million won) that imitated domestic brands such as Sulwhasoo, and distributing and selling them through major domestic open markets.

Cosmetics made in China smuggled and distributed domestically by Mr. A. Provided by Incheon Regional Customs Office, Korea Customs Service

The investigation began after Incheon Customs noted significant price differences-such as popular domestic cosmetics with a market price of 120,000 won being sold online for around 50,000 won-and numerous consumer complaints, including reports of side effects and suspicions that the products were counterfeit. Based on these findings, authorities determined there was a high likelihood that the cosmetics sold by Ms. A were illegally imported.

The investigation focused on analyzing the supply channels and import/export records related to Ms. A’s cosmetics business. During this process, Incheon Customs discovered that Ms. A had smuggled counterfeit Chinese cosmetics into Korea and sold them online.

In particular, Ms. A attempted to prevent consumers from suspecting the products were counterfeit by deleting all import-related information from the online sales pages and misleading consumers with notices such as "Shipments and deliveries are delayed due to high order volume."

Authorities also found evidence that Ms. A tried to evade customs inspections by using third-party identities to file import declarations when bringing counterfeit cosmetics from China into Korea.

It was confirmed that the products were sold to consumers through major open markets in an attempt to pass them off as items available at official domestic stores.

An official from Incheon Customs stated, "Ms. A was aware that importing domestic brand products from overseas could raise suspicions of counterfeiting, so she disguised the smuggled counterfeit cosmetics as domestic deliveries to distribute and sell them to consumers. If a product is significantly cheaper than genuine items or its official import status is unclear, consumers should exercise extra caution and always check buyer reviews before making a purchase."

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