The South Korean government has stated that in order to evade U.S. tariffs, there has been a significant increase in fraudulent activities involving Chinese goods being labeled with Korean origin tags.
According to the South Korean Customs Office on Monday (April 21), a large number of export goods falsely labeled as “Made in Korea” were discovered in the first quarter of 2025, amounting to a staggering 29.5 billion Korean won (approximately 20.7 million U.S. dollars), with 97% of these goods being sold to the United States.
South Korea has highlighted that an increasing number of Chinese companies are shipping goods intended for the U.S. to Korea first, then falsely portraying them as Korean products before exporting them, all to circumvent the high tariffs imposed by the U.S. on Chinese imports.
The South Korean Customs Office revealed that the total value of counterfeit Korean export goods recorded throughout 2024 was 34.8 billion Korean won. In other words, the fraudulent activities discovered in just the first quarter of 2025 already account for 85% of the total amount recorded for the entire year 2024.
The Trump administration has imposed additional tariffs on Chinese goods, with some tariff rates skyrocketing to over 145%. While Korean products have also been affected by the U.S. “equal” tariffs, they are currently enjoying a 90-day negotiation window with a temporary pause on tariffs, only subject to a 10% tariff rate.
South Korean customs have identified various non-compliant goods, such as Chinese-made mattresses fraudulently labeled as Korean products for export. These mattresses were found stored in a warehouse established by a Chinese individual in Korea and then exported to the U.S. with Korean manufacturing labels. The U.S. has imposed anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese mattress imports.
In another case, positive electrode materials worth 3.3 billion Korean won were sent from China to Korea, repackaged, labeled as Korean products, and then exported. There was also a case involving the import of surveillance camera parts to Korea, assembly as Korean-made products, and exported abroad, totaling 19.3 billion Korean won.
South Korean customs have established a special task force to combat such trade practices and have expressed concerns that these activities may damage Korea’s reputation and affect domestic industries.
According to Lee Kwang-woo, an investigator with the Korean Customs Agency, such instances of “washing the origin” occurred during Trump’s first term. South Korea anticipates a similar trend this time, hence the decision to initiate an investigation, establish a special task force, and prevent illegal exports.
South Korea is set to engage in bilateral trade negotiations with the United States this week, and countering fraudulent exports may be a part of the discussion agenda.