BTS's SWIM single CD being illegally distributed on Temu [Provided by Seo Kyoung-duk]
BTS's SWIM single CD being illegally distributed on Temu [Provided by Seo Kyoung-duk]

Pirated copies of BTS's full-group single CD SWIM are being sold on the Chinese online shopping platform Temu, a South Korean professor has found.

Sungshin Women's University Professor Seo Kyoung-duk said Tuesday on his SNS that he had confirmed the illegal distribution after receiving tips from overseas members of ARMY, the BTS fandom.

Sellers on the platform have gone further, running paid sponsored advertisements on social media to actively promote the counterfeit discs.

"It is truly pathetic behavior," Seo said. "Even if the shopping mall claims it only provides the platform, allowing illegal counterfeit products to be listed is clearly wrong."

The SWIM single CD is currently available exclusively through designated official retailers, including Weverse Shop, Hybe's official fan commerce platform. The copies circulating on Temu, which operates as an open marketplace, are unauthorized pirated reproductions made without the rights holder's permission.

This is not the first time a Chinese online shopping platform has infringed on BTS's intellectual property. In March, when BTS's Gwanghwamun concert stage drew a global response, counterfeit merchandise flooded platforms including Taobao and AliExpress — among them T-shirts and fashion accessories bearing the official Arirang logo used without authorization, drawing widespread public outrage.

"This has to stop," Seo said. "Profiting from the illegal sale of someone else's content must end immediately."


shee@heraldcorp.com