Selling Imported Goods as 'Personal Use' to Evade Customs Duties Can Lead to Prison and Fines

Published 26 Nov.2025 15:50(KST)

Caution Urged During Singles' Day and Black Friday Direct Purchase Boom

With the year-end shopping season approaching, including the November Singles' Day, Black Friday, and December Christmas, demand for overseas direct purchases is surging. However, there has been a series of illegal activities exploiting this direct purchase boom, such as evading customs duties or distributing counterfeit goods, prompting caution. In fact, there are confirmed cases where individuals have been sentenced to imprisonment or fines for violating the Customs Act and Trademark Act.

Disguising as 'Personal Use'

Photo to aid understanding of the article. Pixabay.

Purchasing imported goods through overseas platforms has become a rational consumer trend among shoppers, but some sellers are abusing this system. The most common method involves disguising goods intended for sale as 'personal use items' by using the names of family members or others. This exploits the exemption of customs duties for personal use items (list clearance), allowing evasion of customs duties and value-added tax. Additionally, counterfeit goods, which are difficult to clear through official channels, are often smuggled in this way and resold on domestic platforms.

The Customs Act stipulates imprisonment of up to five years or a fine of up to ten times the customs duty or the cost of goods, whichever is higher, for such smuggling activities (Article 269, Paragraph 2). If customs duties are reduced or exempted by fraudulent means, or if the collection of customs duties on exempted goods is evaded, the penalty is imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to five times the amount of reduced or evaded customs duties (Article 270 of the same law).

If a registered trademark is infringed by importing or selling counterfeit goods, this also constitutes a violation of the Trademark Act. According to Article 230 of the Trademark Act, anyone who infringes a trademark right or exclusive license is subject to imprisonment of up to seven years or a fine of up to 100 million won.

Courts Handing Down Prison Sentences

The courts are imposing strict penalties for such illegal acts. In September, the Changwon District Court sentenced Mr. A, who was charged with violating the Customs Act and Trademark Act, to one year in prison, a fine of 5 million won, two years of probation, and a forfeiture of 20,395,619 won (Case No. 2025Godan780). Mr. A imported clothing and miscellaneous goods from China, using the names of family members and others to falsely declare the goods as personal use items, and then sold them through online marketplaces. He exploited the exemption of customs duties for personal use items. Among the imported goods were counterfeit products of famous luxury handbag brands.

In June, the Incheon District Court sentenced Company B and its CEO, Mr. C, who were charged with violating the Customs Act, Trademark Act, and Cosmetics Act, to two years and six months in prison, three years of probation, and a fine of 30 million won (Case No. 2025Godan1784). They imported a total of 55,429 cosmetics and perfumes worth over 600 million won over 3,500 transactions, falsely declaring them as for personal use to receive customs duty reductions. They were also charged with violating the Trademark Act for importing counterfeit cosmetics similar to French cosmetic brands. Additionally, they were charged with violating the Cosmetics Act for storing cosmetics manufactured by an unregistered manufacturer for the purpose of sale.

In March, the Seoul Western District Court fined Mr. D, who was charged with violating the Customs Act, Food Sanitation Act, Pharmaceutical Affairs Act, and Cosmetics Act, 10 million won (Case No. 2024Godan1952). Mr. D, who operated a food and miscellaneous goods retail business, falsely declared 155 million won worth of food imports as personal use items for domestic sale, thereby unlawfully obtaining a customs duty reduction of approximately 24.76 million won.

Forfeiture Is Also Mandatory

Experts warn against commercial sales activities that exploit list clearance. Heo Channyung, a customs and trade law expert and managing attorney at Heo & Partners Law Office, said, "It is common for importers to bring goods into the country for sale while disguising them as personal use items to evade customs and value-added tax. These goods usually enter via list clearance, but since this is not a legitimate import, it can lead to criminal prosecution." Attorney Heo added, "There are many cases where prosecutors seek imprisonment, and since forfeiture is mandatory under the Customs Act, prosecutors will inevitably seek high amounts of forfeiture."