90% of Counterfeits Detected Last Year Were Made in China... Fake Chanel Items Most Common

Most of the counterfeit goods, so-called "jjaktung," seized by customs authorities last year were found to be made in China.

Counterfeit luxury smuggled goods seized by the Coast Guard. Photo by Asia Economy DB

According to data submitted by the Korea Customs Service to Park Seong-hoon, a member of the National Assembly's Planning and Finance Committee from the People Power Party, the value of imported goods seized at the border last year for intellectual property rights infringement amounted to 170.5 billion KRW (79 cases).

By country, China accounted for 153.9 billion KRW, representing 90.3% of the total. In terms of cases, 61 out of 79 cases, or 77.2%, were from China. This was followed by Hong Kong (6.7 billion KRW, 5 cases), Thailand (5.4 billion KRW, 3 cases), and others (4.5 billion KRW, 10 cases).

By brand, Chanel accounted for the largest share with 54 billion KRW, representing 32% of the total. Burberry (11.7 billion KRW) and Louis Vuitton (10 billion KRW) also exceeded 10 billion KRW each.

By product category, bags were the most seized at 80.3 billion KRW (28 cases), followed by clothing and textiles at 52 billion KRW (39 cases). Watches worth 20.2 billion KRW (8 cases) were also seized.

Rep. Park pointed out, "With the increase in overseas direct purchases, the number of Chinese counterfeit products is steadily rising. The distribution of counterfeit products harms not only consumers but also domestic producers, so a strong government-wide response is urgently needed."