Patent Office Seizes Counterfeit Goods Worth 2.1 Billion Won at Daegu Seomun Market

Counterfeit goods worth approximately 2.1 billion KRW were seized at Daegu Seomun Market.

The Korea Intellectual Property Office's Special Trademark Police announced on the 10th that from the 10th to 11th of last month, they conducted a crackdown on counterfeit goods around Daegu Seomun Market, resulting in the non-custodial indictment of four individuals, including A (64), who were involved in the distribution and sale of counterfeit products, on charges of violating the Trademark Act.

More than 1,100 counterfeit items were seized during the operation, including many luxury products from brands such as L Company.

Patent Office trademark police investigators are inspecting and displaying counterfeit products of famous brands seized at Daegu Seomun Market. Photo by Patent Office

Seomun Market is considered the largest traditional market in the Yeongnam region, surpassing even Daegu. In particular, this market has many stores selling fashion items such as clothing and bags clustered within the same shopping complex, attracting many visitors looking to purchase fashion products at relatively low prices.

The trademark police judged that some merchants were exploiting these characteristics of Seomun Market to continuously sell low-priced counterfeit goods bearing famous trademarks to visitors, prompting the crackdown.

During the operation, various tactics to evade detection were identified, such as operating stores without installing signs indicating the store name or covering the interior goods with curtains so they could not be seen from outside, all aimed at avoiding the crackdown on the distribution and sale of counterfeit goods.

Earlier this year in February, the trademark police formed the ‘Saebit Market Counterfeit Goods Investigation Council’ in cooperation with Seoul City, Jung-gu Office of Seoul, and Jungbu Police Station of Seoul to operate a crackdown model linking investigations and administrative actions.

Considering the operational characteristics of Saebit Market, where over 100 tents operate closely together during nighttime hours, there was a shared recognition that individual crackdowns had limitations, which led to the formation of the council. Since its launch, the council has continued crackdowns a total of five times, including in March, May, July, and twice in September.

The trademark police plan to expand this crackdown model, which collaborates with local governments like Saebit Market, to other famous traditional markets nationwide such as Daegu Seomun Market and Busan Gukje Market, strengthening enforcement and enhancing the external image of domestic traditional markets.

Park Ju-yeon, head of the Special Trademark Police at the Korea Intellectual Property Office, stated, “We will continue to work closely with local governments to crack down on counterfeit goods in well-known traditional markets frequented mainly by domestic and international tourists.”