More consumers swindled by online counterfeit goods sellers

Kim Yong-rae, the commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) examines counterfeit products seized by the Special Judicial Police under KIPO at the Government Complex in Daejeon in this Sept. 15 photo. / Courtesy of Korean Intellectual Property Office

By Lee Hyo-jin

An office worker surnamed Jeong in Seoul immediately felt something was wrong when she received the designer bag she had ordered from overseas through Naver Smart Store, an online shopping platform in September.

“The invoice attached to the parcel read that it was shipped from Guangzhou, China, not Italy as was written on the website,” recalled Jeong.

After unboxing it, she was convinced that the bag was fake by the smell of faux leather and several typos on the authenticity label.

“Although the sellers didn't admit that the bag was fake, they gave me a full refund. So I told them to take it back. But they haven't sent anyone to pick it up yet, which made me 100 percent sure it was a fraud.”

In early October, counterfeit Apple AirPods Pro sold through 11st, an open market platform, lured in dozens of victims who were attracted by the deal that was simply too good to be true.

AirPods Pro, which currently sell for 329,000 won ($287) on Apple's official stores, were offered at 216,000 won. It was later revealed they were selling fake products all registered under one serial number. The seller is currently not responding to refund demands from duped buyers.

The number of consumers swindled by fake goods sold online has surged in the contactless boom amid the coronavirus pandemic, recent data from the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) showed.

Reports of fraudulent products escalated to 12,767 cases in the January-August period this year, up 204 percent compared to the same period in 2019. But only 3 percent of them led to full investigations due to a lack of manpower, the office said.

The government announced Wednesday the launch of a massive crackdown on the online distribution of counterfeit goods through a set of comprehensive measures.

The Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency will double its online monitoring personnel to 16 from the current eight, by temporarily reassigning some of its on-site control officers to the online monitoring team.

The Special Judicial Police under KIPO, which conducts criminal investigations and raids relating to violations of intellectual property (IP) rights, will enhance its capacity by strengthening its digital forensic investigation techniques and employing more officers.

A council on prevention of counterfeit distribution, consisting of 20 e-commerce operators, 56 trademark holders, the Korea Consumer Agency, and the Korea Communications Commission will also be launched. It will cooperate on developing educational programs on IP rights and joint control over infringement cases.

Lee Eun-hee, a professor of consumer science at Inha University, welcomed the strengthened measures while stressing the importance of consumer awareness in eradicating counterfeit goods.

“The main reason why fake items keep emerging despite all the regulations is because there is a certain demand in the market. People should think twice before making an order if a product is offered at an unreasonably low price, and refrain from buying from unverified distribution channels,” said Lee.