Is the 'S Company Tumbler' Bought on Open Market Actually a Chinese Fake?

An importer who smuggled a large quantity of so-called ‘knockoff’ tumblers infringing on the intellectual property rights of the famous overseas coffee brand S was caught by customs authorities.

The Pyeongtaek Direct Customs Office of the Korea Customs Service announced on the 16th that Mr. A was caught for violating the Customs Act and Trademark Act and was reported to the prosecution.

Provided by Korea Customs Service

According to Pyeongtaek Customs, Mr. A is suspected of smuggling about 14,000 counterfeit tumblers imitating S’s tumblers (worth approximately 550 million KRW if genuine) from China via express cargo and selling them on open markets.

In this process, Mr. A is accused of abusing the benefits of the list clearance system by stealing 22 personal customs clearance codes belonging to family members and acquaintances.

He also falsely declared the product names as items unrelated to tumblers (such as BAKING PAN, DAILY NECESSITIES) and disguised the shipments as for personal consumption to smuggle them without import declaration.

In particular, to evade customs surveillance, Mr. A dispersed the domestic receiving locations to four places and, while operating open markets, showed meticulousness by borrowing the business licenses of three acquaintances to open nine sales sites on five open market platforms.

The Chinese-made counterfeit tumblers smuggled by Mr. A were sold on open markets for 14,000 to 17,000 KRW. Considering the purchase price in China was 3,800 to 7,800 KRW, Mr. A earned an unfair profit of at least 6,000 KRW per item.

Pyeongtaek Customs stated, “Recently, as the volume of sea express cargo from China at Pyeongtaek Port has increased, the smuggling of counterfeit goods is also rising. Customs plans to strengthen monitoring and information analysis of express cargo and intensify crackdowns on illegal activities.”