“Haegum” Kiwi Branded a “Counterfeit” Overnight?... Jeollanam-do Farmers on High Alert

Provincial Assemblyman Kim Juwoong: "A Disaster Caused by Irresponsible Administration"

Concerns have been raised that lax management of the trademark rights for “Haegum,” a gold kiwi variety independently developed by the Jeollanam-do Agricultural Research and Extension Services, has created a loophole that is causing damage to innocent farmers.

On February 2, during a work report session of the Jeollanam-do Agricultural Research and Extension Services, Assemblyman Kim Juwoong of the Jeollanam-do Provincial Assembly (The Minjoo Party of Korea, proportional representation) strongly condemned the institute’s complacent response regarding the trademark dispute over the “Haegum” kiwi.

Kim Juwoong

“Haegum” is a gold kiwi variety developed through public research by the Jeollanam-do Agricultural Research and Extension Services and is a leading regional income crop currently cultivated by more than 500 farms in the province. However, after the duration of the trademark rights held by the institute expired in 2023 and was not renewed, a private agricultural corporation took advantage of the gap and registered a trademark under the same name in 2024.

As a result, farms and distributors that had been using the “Haegum” name for years suddenly found themselves entangled in disputes over alleged trademark infringement. In reality, it is understood that many farms and companies have suffered direct and indirect economic losses, such as hurriedly revising their online sales pages or changing product names.

Assemblyman Kim criticized, saying, “A ridiculous situation has occurred in which ‘Haegum,’ a public asset developed with the hard-earned tax money of provincial residents, has been allowed to become the private property of a private corporation due to negligent administrative management,” adding, “This is a clear case of dereliction of duty and exposes serious loopholes in trademark management.”

In particular, Assemblyman Kim also voiced concern over the institute’s follow-up response. He pointed out, “Even though the trademark dispute is still ongoing, the institute has irresponsibly and dangerously advised farmers that they ‘can continue to use the name’ based solely on legal counsel.”

He went on to ask, “If an unfavorable ruling is handed down in a future lawsuit, do you have any concrete measures to deal with the massive damage and legal liability that will arise?”

Assemblyman Kim called for a complete overhaul of the intellectual property management system in light of this incident. He stressed, “We need a thorough review to determine whether there are other trademarks that have been left to lapse without renewal,” and urged, “Swiftly establish measures to prevent a recurrence so that farmers are not dragged into unnecessary legal disputes because of administrative mistakes.”

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