Special crackdown on IP-infringing goods ran May 4–June 30; 14 criminal cases also investigated
The Korea Customs Service seized more than 4.1 million counterfeit goods during a special crackdown on intellectual property violations, intercepting about 452,000 items at the customs clearance stage and uncovering roughly 3.65 million more through 14 criminal investigations — with the counterfeit goods carrying an authentic retail value of 153 billion won ($104 million).
The special enforcement period, which ran from May 4 to June 30, was designed to protect domestic manufacturers from losses and safeguard public health. Authorities focused on two key areas: the abuse of overseas direct-purchase channels to import counterfeit goods, and the illegal online distribution of smuggled counterfeits through live-streaming broadcasts and SNS platforms.
Customs clearance seizures
A total of 452,927 counterfeit items were intercepted at the customs clearance stage during the period, including K-brand products in cosmetics, fashion and photo cards. Foreign brands accounted for 448,183 items, or 99 percent of the total, while K-brand goods made up the remaining 4,744 items, or 1 percent.
The tally represents 38 percent of the full-year 2025 enforcement figure of about 1.17 million items, and is 2.5 times — or 155 percent — higher than the roughly 177,000 items seized during the same period a year earlier.
By product category, toys and stationery led with 189,055 items (41.7 percent), followed by clothing at 119,571 items (26.4 percent), personal accessories at 40,413 items (8.9 percent), and bags at 27,977 items (6.2 percent). By shipment type, general cargo accounted for 315,216 items (69.9 percent), express and postal shipments for 127,468 items (28.1 percent), and traveler-carried goods for 10,243 items (2.3 percent).
Criminal investigation results
The 14 criminal investigations conducted during the special enforcement period yielded about 3.65 million counterfeit items valued at 153 billion won — seven times the 21.4 billion won recorded in the same period last year. Of those, K-brand goods accounted for about 6,000 items worth 400 million won.
By product category based on value, clothing topped the list at 125.3 billion won (81.9 percent), followed by bags at 16 billion won (10.5 percent), lifestyle products at 8.2 billion won (5.4 percent), and footwear at 1.3 billion won (0.8 percent).
The Korea Customs Service also presented special commendations to outstanding officers and departments that contributed to the enforcement and criminal investigations during the period.
Ten officers and eight divisions received special performance bonuses for their work at the customs clearance stage, and the officer who seized the most K-brand infringing goods received a commissioner's citation along with a cash award. The top-ranked investigation team and two runner-up teams in the IP crime investigation category also received special performance bonuses.
Choi Moon-ki, head of the Korea Customs Service's investigation coordination division, said IP infringement crimes undermine the competitiveness of domestic manufacturing and threaten consumer safety and health. "We will further strengthen our crackdown by enhancing intelligence analysis and planned enforcement operations, as well as conducting joint operations with foreign customs and investigative agencies to directly disrupt overseas production and distribution networks for IP-infringing goods," he said.
kwonhl@heraldcorp.com
