Differences in Inspection Opinions on Musinsa Sold Out Products

Products sold on resale platform SoldOut judged counterfeit on Naver Cream
MUSINSA "Authenticity not confirmed... Strengthening genuine product authentication system"

[Asia Economy Culture Young Intern Reporter] Musinsa is once again expected to be embroiled in a 'counterfeit dispute.' A Nike product sold on Musinsa's resale platform SoldOut was judged counterfeit during the resale process on Naver's resale platform Cream. This is the third time this year that Musinsa has been caught up in a counterfeit controversy.

According to the industry on the 25th, consumer A purchased the 'Nike Jordan 1 Retro High OG Gym Red' product from Musinsa SoldOut and it was judged counterfeit on Naver Cream. As a result, A received a notification that the transaction was not possible and said, "I bought it for about 350,000 won on SoldOut and sold it without touching the wrapping packaging at all right after purchase."

Currently, A stated, "I have requested Cream to secure CCTV footage of the inspection center table." He added, "The process of a Cream employee taking out the package I sent, removing the wrapping packaging handled by SoldOut, and even the SoldOut inspection plastic tag attached to each shoe will all appear on the screen."

In response, Musinsa said that the post was uploaded on a community and the authenticity has not been finally confirmed. A Musinsa official explained, "After the counterfeit judgment, we have not yet heard from Cream about the reasons, process, or results of the counterfeit judgment. Usually, if a counterfeit judgment is made, the consumer receives the item back and can request re-inspection (at SoldOut) for that item."

He added, "If a product initially sold on SoldOut has a counterfeit issue on another platform, it will be re-inspected, and if the result is a counterfeit judgment, compensation will be provided. However, there has been no such request yet."

This is not the first counterfeit dispute between SoldOut and Cream. In August, the 'Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG Travis Scott' sold for about 2 million won on SoldOut was judged counterfeit during Cream's inspection process. Earlier in April, the authenticity of the 'Fear of God Essentials' T-shirts sold by Musinsa's subsidiary Boutique was controversial. At that time, the manufacturer Fear of God concluded that "none of the six Essentials T-shirts sold by Musinsa can be judged as genuine."

Meanwhile, as the counterfeit controversy continued, Musinsa announced that it would strengthen its genuine product authentication system in cooperation with the Trade-related Intellectual Property Protection Association (TIPA) under the Korea Customs Service. It also significantly strengthened the inspection standards for parallel importers entering the store and added procedures to verify authenticity.

Parallel importers undergo inspection of labeling for all products they intend to sell through Musinsa's service, checking for any damage to consumer-verifiable information such as tags and care labels attached to the products. Additionally, SoldOut must re-verify products involved in counterfeit disputes, and if judged counterfeit, compensate the purchaser with 300% of the purchase amount.