The Korean Intellectual Property Office's special judicial police (trademark police) have arrested a group involved in the distribution of counterfeit cosmetics.
The trademark police reported on the 19th that they have referred four individuals, including a wholesaler surnamed A (42), to prosecutors with a recommendation for indictment on charges of violating trademark laws.
According to the trademark police, Mr. A is suspected of distributing over 87,000 counterfeit cosmetics that he misrepresented as parallel imports of overseas famous brands such as SK-II, Kiehl's, and Estée Lauder between April 2023 and March 2024. The value of the genuine products amounts to 7.9 billion won, and the criminal profits obtained by the suspects are roughly 2.1 billion won.
It has been revealed that they sold counterfeit cosmetics without regard for the targets, including distributors and home shopping partners. Even distributors who specialize in cosmetics were deceived, as the counterfeit products were crafted so intricately that distinguishing between genuine and fake was extremely difficult.
They supplied counterfeit cosmetics to distributors as if they were genuine. The trademark police became aware of this during the process of the distributors exporting these products overseas, and the criminal activities were uncovered. They also attempted to supply the products to home shopping channels through partners. The trademark police seized over 40,000 counterfeit cosmetics that they were storing in a warehouse in Gyeonggi Province, intended for home shopping delivery.
Suspect A was responsible for overseas sales activities and import management, Mr. B (40) handled the documentation related to imports, while Mr. C (43) and Mr. D (38) were involved in domestic distribution, indicating an organized division of roles.
During the process of assessing the seized counterfeit cosmetics, the trademark holder conducted a chemical analysis, which confirmed that the ingredients of the counterfeit products did not match those of the genuine ones. While no harmful substances were detected in the cosmetics they sold, it was revealed that key ingredients and content volume fell below the standard, classified as 'water-like' products.
The counterfeit SK-II essence showed no detection of 'niacinamide,' a key functional ingredient for whitening, and the counterfeit Estée Lauder serum had an average content volume that fell below the labeled amount (50ml). They distributed the water-like counterfeit cosmetics at one-third of the original price in the market.
Shin Sang-gon, Director of the Korean Intellectual Property Office's Industrial Property Protection Cooperation Division, noted, "It is not easy for the average consumer to distinguish between genuine and counterfeit everyday products like cosmetics, so special caution is needed when purchasing products priced lower than the standard price, and it is recommended to buy from official retailers," adding, "The Korean Intellectual Property Office will strengthen planned investigations to eradicate counterfeit goods that significantly harm consumer interests and threaten public safety and health."