“Even Teenagers' Wallets Were Emptied” Fake Idol Photocard Importer Caught Red-Handed

A man in his 40s who smuggled a large quantity of counterfeit photo cards infringing on idol photo copyrights and distributed and sold them domestically has been caught.

The Busan Regional Customs Office of the Korea Customs Service announced on the 29th that Mr. A was arrested on charges of violating the Customs Act and Copyright Act and was sent to the Busan District Prosecutors' Office without detention.

Counterfeit idol photo cards seized by Busan Customs. Provided by Busan Regional Customs Office, Korea Customs Service.

According to Busan Customs, Mr. A is suspected of smuggling 1.23 million counterfeit idol photo cards (worth about 1.2 billion KRW at genuine product prices) and distributing them in the market.

Busan Customs began an investigation after confirming circumstances where counterfeit idol photo cards were being widely distributed in gift shops mainly frequented by teenagers.

During the investigation, Busan Customs conducted a detailed analysis of customs clearance records related to the photo cards, identified and arrested Mr. A, and seized 360,000 counterfeit photo cards that were in storage.

The investigation revealed that from July 2022 to August this year, Mr. A purchased 1.23 million counterfeit photo cards, each set consisting of 55 cards with a cost price of 400 to 1,000 KRW, from China-based e-commerce platforms (overseas direct purchase) and smuggled them into Korea. He then sold them on internet shopping malls for around 10,000 KRW per set. It is estimated that the unfair profits Mr. A gained amounted to approximately 160 million KRW.

Mr. A committed the crime by exploiting the marketing policy of including photo cards with idol albums and the popularity of idol photo cards in the market.

In particular, Mr. A showed meticulousness by distributing and importing the counterfeit photo cards for sale using the personal customs clearance codes of 18 individuals, including family members, to evade customs inspections during the smuggling process.

A Busan Customs official stated, “We plan to strengthen crackdowns to eradicate illegal activities that take advantage of the popularity of K-pop idols, such as copyright infringement,” and added, “We ask that anyone who discovers illegal distribution of intellectual property infringement goods report it to the ‘Korea Customs Service Smuggling Report Center.’”