South Korean Customs Seized Over 80% of Counterfeit Goods from China in the First Half of the Year.

New data shows that in the first half of this year, over 80% of counterfeit goods seized by the South Korean Customs came from China. Among these counterfeit goods, more than half were imitations of the French luxury brand Chanel.

According to a report from the South Korean National Assembly’s Planning and Finance Committee on Thursday, citing data from the Customs and Tariff Bureau, a total of 34 cases of intellectual property infringement were discovered at ports between January and June, with an estimated value of approximately 934 billion South Korean Won (about 68.7 million US dollars).

From the source country perspective, 24 of the seized items were imported from China, with a total import value of 781 billion South Korean Won, accounting for 83.6% of the total. In the previous year, 95.4% of all seized counterfeit goods, valued at 354.1 billion South Korean Won, also originated from China.

In terms of the types of counterfeit goods, fake bags and luggage were the most prevalent, with a total value of 653 billion South Korean Won, representing 69.9% of the total; followed by clothing, valued at 196 billion South Korean Won, accounting for 21%.

Regarding specific brands, Chanel led with a value of 487 billion South Korean Won, making up 52.1% of the total; followed by Goyard with 75 billion South Korean Won; Louis Vuitton and Gucci were also among the popular brands with 41 billion and 20 billion South Korean Won respectively.

South Koreans have a strong penchant for luxury brands. According to a survey conducted by the Korea Herald, citing market research company Embrain, in November last year, 26% of the respondents said they first purchased luxury goods during high school, while 45.7% made their first luxury purchase in their early twenties.

The Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) recently released its annual report on intellectual property protection based on a survey of domestic companies with 10 employees or more. The report revealed that 50.2% of the surveyed companies called for action against the sale of counterfeit products in the country.

Member of the South Korean National Assembly, Park Seong-hoon, stated in the Thursday report, “With the increase in overseas direct procurement, the sales volume of counterfeit products from China is also rising… In order to prevent harm to consumers, it is necessary to establish a stricter network to combat such counterfeit goods.”