A man in his 30s has been caught selling and distributing counterfeit luxury accessories, including those imitating Cartier. The total value of the genuine products corresponding to the counterfeit goods distributed on the market is estimated to reach approximately 340 billion won.
On July 1, the Special Judicial Police for Trademarks (Trademark Police) of the Korean Intellectual Property Office announced that Mr. A (38) had been apprehended on suspicion of violating the Trademark Act and referred to the prosecution.
Counterfeit accessories seized from Mr. A by trademark police. Provided by the Korean Intellectual Property Office
According to the Trademark Police, Mr. A is suspected of operating a large accessory store in the Busan area and distributing large quantities of counterfeit luxury accessories, such as rings and necklaces.
From January to April of last year, Mr. A mainly sold counterfeit luxury accessories and famous character merchandise on a wholesale basis. The number of counterfeit items distributed by Mr. A amounts to over 40,000. This is the largest value of genuine goods seized in a single case since the launch of the Special Judicial Police, exceeding the previous record for a single case (65.2 billion won in 2015) by five times.
In January, the Trademark Police identified a wholesaler promoting counterfeit luxury accessories on a community-based social networking service (SNS) and launched a planned investigation. After two months of investigation, the Trademark Police secured evidence and seized the counterfeit goods at the large store operated by Mr. A.
The investigation found that Mr. A mainly sold counterfeit accessories made of surgical steel (a high-grade stainless steel used for surgical instruments) and famous character merchandise on a wholesale basis, and also sold some items directly to consumers at the store.
At the scene, 30,543 counterfeit accessories (77.6%) imitating overseas luxury brands such as Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Chanel were seized, along with 7,924 counterfeit items (20.1%) infringing on character trademarks such as Sanrio (Hello Kitty, etc.), Pokemon, and Kakao Friends, and 913 counterfeit items (2.3%) imitating fashion brands such as MLB and Emis (emis).
Shin Sangkon, Director General of the Industrial Property Protection and Cooperation Bureau at the Korean Intellectual Property Office, stated, "The Trademark Police detected the large-scale distribution of counterfeit goods imitating famous overseas brands and responded in a timely manner, resulting in the largest seizure of counterfeit goods to date. The Trademark Police will continue to strengthen planned crackdowns and investigative capabilities to eradicate the distribution of counterfeit goods that threaten the genuine product market."
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