'Thought It Was "Ppeongiyo" but It Was "Ppeongiya"... Suspended Sentence for Manufacturer CEO Who Made and Sold Fake Snacks'

Seoul Food Industry's 'Ppeongiyo' and similar product 'Ppeongiya'.
Photo by Seoul Food Industry Homepage Capture, provided by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy Trade Commission

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] The CEO of a company who produced a counterfeit version of the long-beloved snack 'Ppeongiyo' called 'Ppeongiya' and exported it to Vietnam has been sentenced to probation.

On the 28th, the Criminal Division 1 of the Uijeongbu District Court (Presiding Judge Lee Hyun-kyung) announced that in the appeal trial of Mr. A, who was indicted for violating the Trademark Act and the Act on the Prevention of Unfair Competition and Protection of Trade Secrets, the original verdict was overturned, sentencing him to 8 months in prison with a 2-year probation.

The appellate court stated, "Seoul Food Industry's 'Ppeongiyo' is widely recognized domestically. The 'Ppeongiya' exported by the defendants was originally produced with the intent to imitate, and it is substantially similar to the victim product in appearance, title, and concept, causing confusion with the victim product."

However, the court explained the sentencing rationale, saying, "Although the violations of the Trademark Act and the Unfair Competition Prevention Act are in a relationship of ideal concurrence, the original court regarded them as actual concurrence and increased the penalty for concurrence. This was a misinterpretation of the law concerning the number of offenses and affected the judgment," thus overturning the original verdict.

Mr. A was previously tried on charges of manufacturing packaging and snacks with 95% similarity to the popular domestic snack 'Ppeongiyo' at company B, located in northern Gyeonggi, from April to May 2019, and exporting them to Vietnam. Company B named the counterfeit snack 'Ppeongiya' and exported 4,269 boxes over eight occasions during the crime period, earning an illicit profit of around 60 million KRW.

Meanwhile, the first trial at Goyang Branch Court sentenced Mr. A to 10 months in prison with a 2-year probation and 80 hours of community service, and fined company B, where Mr. A is CEO, 12 million KRW. However, the appellate court overturned the original verdict, reducing Mr. A's sentence and the fine imposed on company B by 3 million KRW.