Ali of 'Sasaenggyeoldan' Announces "100 Billion Won Investment Over Next 3 Years to Eradicate Counterfeits"

'Project Clean' Launched... New Dedicated Team for Protecting Korean Brands Established
Ray Jang "Will Take All Measures to Protect Intellectual Property and Consumers"

AliExpress will invest 10 billion KRW over three years to eradicate counterfeit goods being indiscriminately sold. The plan is to establish the ‘Project Klean’ system to protect the intellectual property rights of consumers and businesses.

Global online marketplace AliExpress held a press conference on the 6th at Lotte Hotel Seoul to announce the 'Strengthening of Intellectual Property Rights and Consumer Protection.' Ray Jang, CEO of AliExpress Korea, is discussing measures to prevent consumer rights violations such as counterfeit and poor-quality sellers. Photo by Younghan Heo younghan@

On the 6th, Ray Jang, CEO of AliExpress Korea, stated, “As the number of Korean consumers has recently increased significantly, we will take all measures to protect intellectual property rights and consumers,” revealing this plan.

Concerns about counterfeit sales on AliExpress have been consistently raised. In the National Assembly’s Public Administration and Security Committee’s Fair Trade Commission audit last October, it was pointed out that not only luxury counterfeit goods but also counterfeit items such as lawmakers’ and police badges were openly sold, highlighting the need for strong measures from the Fair Trade Commission.

The project system announced by AliExpress this time consists of five stages: proactive preventive measures, reporting system, quality assurance system, legal system support, and expansion of stakeholders and governance. For proactive prevention, AliExpress plans to clearly verify whether sellers have brand authorization and sales permits, and use AI algorithms to check prices, product names, images, etc., to identify counterfeit goods. The seller warning system will also be strengthened. If counterfeit content is confirmed, penalties will be imposed on the seller, and if excessive, sales will be restricted. In fact, last month, sales were suspended for 860 sellers due to counterfeit issues.

The reporting system has also been improved. Both rights holders and consumers can report counterfeit goods, and a dedicated reporting channel and protection team for the Korean market have been established to resolve issues. To strengthen the quality assurance system, a mystery shopper project will be conducted. Through agreements with third-party independent organizations, mystery shoppers will be created to inspect counterfeit goods and impose penalties when detected. Consumers can also receive refunds by reporting suspected counterfeit goods without submitting evidence.

CEO Ray Jang said, “We will strive to protect small and medium-sized enterprises and Korea’s independent designer brands well,” adding, “Since managing intellectual property infringement products must be continuously carried out, we will work in cooperation with Korean stakeholders.”